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The  Publication  Committee  of  the  Groher  Club 
certifies  that  this  copy  of  a  ' '  Catalogue  of  an 
Exhibition  of  Selected  Works  of  The  Poets 
Laureate  of  England  "  is  one  of  an  edition  of 
three  hundred  copies,  on  hand-made  paper, 
printed  in  the  month  of  March,  1901. 


•  .  •  •  •      » 

••  •  •  •  • 

•  •,•  •     •  • 

•  •  •        •     • 


,.  ■^U-tr  CLjy    ty  S  f}ah-->-i/.MA^/ixnyc/^     t^rrjnv   Cm,    hoyt^t>/y\M,  t  l   i-j okaX^ o^txi-t 


BE 


CATALOGUE 


OF  AN  EXHIBITION  OF 
SELECTED  WORKS. ;  \  \ / 


>  > 


OF  ,',    ,•       ***';'',»,   ».  •  • 


THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

OF  ENGLAND 


NEW  YORK 

THE  GROLIER  CLUB 

MCMI 


•  •    •  •  .  •  • 

•  •     •  •»  •  • 


Copyright,  1901,  by 

The  Grolier  Club  of  the 

City  of  New  York 


CONTENTS 

Ben  Jonson,   after  the  Painting  by 

Gerard  van  Honthorst    .    Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Introduction vii 

The  Poets  Laureate  Chronologically 

Arranged xviii 

Part  I     The  Volunteer  Laureates   .       i 

Part  II  Poets  Laureate  by  Royal  Let- 
ters Patent 13 

Authorities  on  the  Poets  Laureate    73 

Portraits 74 


727802 


INTRODUCTION 

AFTER  the  fleeing  Daphne  was  transformed 
^  into  a  laurel  tree  to  escape  the  pursuing 
god  of  the  lyre,  the  laurel  branch  was  assigned 
to  Apollo  as  one  of  his  attributes.  Victors  in 
the  Pythian  games  held  in  his  honor  were 
crowned  with  it ;  it  was  the  symbol  of  purifi- 
cation and  atonement ;  it  was  used,  like  the 
olive,  as  a  sign  of  truce ;  it  was  proof  against 
lightning ;  and,  Apollo  being  the  god  of  poetry 
too,  the  Laurea  Apollinaris  was  given  for  po- 
etic merit.  Ever  since  the  days  of  Helicon 
and  Parnassus,  excellence  in  poetry  has  been 
crowned,  at  first  literally  and  then  figuratively, 
with  laurel.  The  Romans  adopted  the  cus- 
tom, and  it  flourished  in  the  Middle  Ages 
and  the  Renaissance,  when  learning  was  a 
craze  and  the  recognition  of  learning  the  de- 
light of  princes  and  people. 


INTRODUCTION 

When  the  training  of  scholars  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  religious  houses,  which  later  be- 
came universities,  it  was  to  them  a  privilege  to 
reward  merit  with  the  laurel.  At  first  lau- 
reation  signalized  merit  in  law  and  medicine, 
but  later  the  wreath  was  bestowed  for  grammar 
alone.  It  was  a  distinction  like  the  sheepskin 
nowadays,  and  was  given  with  dignified  public 
ceremony.  Spain,  Italy,  France,  Germany 
and  England  all  had  their  laureations.  In 
some  countries  the  wreath  was  bestowed  by 
the  universities,  in  others  by  the  sovereign, 
while  in  the  case  of  Petrarch  the  Roman  Sen- 
ate gave  the  crown. 

A  story  told  by  Austin  and  Ralph  serves  to 
show  that  the  title  was  sometimes  bestowed 
carelessly  or  in  jest.  Leo  X,  hearing  of  the 
ludicrous  performances  of  a  poet  who,  hav- 
ing come  up  to  Rome  to  recite  an  epic  be- 
fore a  delighted  and  amused  audience,  re- 
ceived as  a  reward  a  crown  of  laurel,  vine 
and  cabbage  leaves,  sent  for  him  to  the  pal- 
ace. Here  the  laureate  was  lavishly  enter- 
tained, but  it  was  stipulated  that  he  was 
not  to  have  any  wine  unless  he  extemporized 
a  certain  number  of  Latin  verses,  and  for 
every  false  quantity  he  made  his  wine  was 
to  be  watered. 

"  On  one  unhappy  occasion,  holding  forth 
a  goblet  pallid  with  immoderate  dilution,  the 

viii 


INTRODUCTION 

poet   assuaged  his   despondency  by  the  fol- 
lowing epigrammatic  conceit: 

"  In  cratere  meo  Thetis  est  conjuncta  Lyseo : 
Est  Dea  juncta  Deo,  sed  Dea  major  eo. 

"Such  refined  torture  on  the  part  of  His 
Holiness  amused  their  Eminences  the  Cardi- 
nals, and  once  excited  some  literary  sparring 
between  the  accomplished  Leo  and  his  de- 
pendent. .  .  . 

"  Archipoeta  facit  versus  pro  mille  poetis, 

once     indignantly    yet     proudly     exclaimed 
Querno. 

"  Et  pro  mille  aliis  archipoata  bibit," 

was  the  ready  and  reproving  reply. 

"  Porrige,"  exclaimed  the  bard  in  despair, 
"  Porrige  quod  faciat  mihi  carmina  docta,  Falernum. 

"The  pontifical  punster  smiled  as  he  ob- 
served : 

"  Hoc  etiam  enervat  debilitatque/(?^(?w." 

In  England  an  officer  called  the  King's 
Versifier  had  been  attached  to  the  court  long 
before  the  time  of  Edward  IV,  and  may  have 
been  the  descendant  of  the  still  earlier  harper 
or  minstrel.  Chaucer  is  thought  by  some  to 
have  been  a  regular  court  poet;  but  there  is 
nothing  to  show  this,  or  even  that  he  was 
laureated  by  the  University.  The  assumption 
rests  upon  the  two  facts  of  his  styling  himself 

2  IX 


INTRODUCTION 

"poet  laureate,"  and  his  having  received,  at 
one  time,  the  grant  of  a  pitcher  of  wine  daily 
at  the  port  of  London,  and  at  another  the 
grant  of  a  tun  of  wine. 

John  Kay,  of  whom  little  is  known,  was  a 
poet  laureate  attached  to  the  court  of  Ed- 
ward IV. 

Andrew  Barnard,  who  was  appointed  by 
Henry  VIII.,  wrote  Latin  verses  and  hymns. 

John  Skelton,  scholar,  wag,  and  satirist,  also 
served  Henry  VIII.  in  this  office,  and  was  the 
last  to  bear  the  title  in  its  primary  significance. 
He  won  his  laurels  at  Oxford,  as  he  himself 
tells  us : 

"  A  king  to  me  mine  habit  gave:  ^ 

At  Oxford,  the  University, 
Advanced  I  was  to  that  degree ; 
By  whole  consent  of  iheir  senate, 
I  was  made  Poet- Laureate." 

To  his  ability  as  a  scholar  Caxton  bears 
witness  in  the  preface  to  a  book  printed  in 
1490 :  "  But  I  pray  Master  Skelton,  late  cre- 
ated poet-laureate  in  the  University  of  Oxford, 
to  oversee  and  correct  the  said  book,  and  to 
address  and  expound  where,  as  shall  be  found 
fault,  to  them  that  shall  require  it.  For  him  I 
know  sufficient  to  expound  and  English  every 
difficulty  that  is  therein.  For  he  hath  late 
translated  the  epistles  of  Tully  and  the  book 
of  Diodorus  Siculus,  and  divers  other  works 


INTRODUCTION 

out  of  Latin  into  English,  not  in  rude  and  old 
language,  but  in  polished  and  ornate  terms 
craftily,  as  he  that  hath  read  Virgil,  Ovid, 
Tully  and  all  the  other  noble  poets  and  orators 
to  me  unknown.  And  also  he  hath  read  the 
nine  muses,  and  understands  the  musical  sci- 
ences, and  to  whom  of  them  each  science  is 
approved.  I  suppose  he  hath  drunk  of  Heli- 
con's well.  Then  I  pray  him,  and  such  other, 
to  correct,  add,  or  minish  where  as  he  or  they 
shall  find  fault,"  etc. 

In  1 59 1  Queen  Elizabeth  conferred  upon 
Edmund  Spenser  a  grant  of  ;^5o  a  year;  this, 
with  the  fact  that  he  is  called  the  "  new  lau- 
reate "  in  "  Piers  Pennilesse,"  is  the  only  ground 
for  thinking  him  a  court  poet  laureate. 

Hamilton  quotes  a  good  story  told  in  con- 
nection with  the  pension :  Lord  Burleigh  ex- 
claimed, "  What ;  all  this  for  a  rhyme  ?  "  and 
Elizabeth  replied:  "Then  give  him  what  is 
reason."  Spenser  waited  some  time,  but  no 
money  came,  so  he  wrote  the  lines  : 

"  I  was  promised  on  a  time 
To  have  reason  for  my  rhyme  ; 
But  from  that  time  to  this  season, 
I  have  had  nor  rhyme  nor  reason." 

There  is  a  tradition  that  Daniel  was  poet 
laureate  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  but  no  evidence 
can  be  produced  to  prove  it.     He  held  other 


INTRODUCTION 

public  offices,  however.  In  the  Calendars  of 
State  Papers,  under  date  of  January  31,  1604, 
appears  the  following  notice : 

"  Grant  to  Edward  Kirkham,  Alexander 
Hawkins,  Thomas  Kendall  and  Robert 
Payne,  of  license  to  train  up  children,  to  be 
called '  Children  of  the  Revels  to  the  Queen,' 
and  to  exercise  them  in  playing  within  the 
Blackfriare  in  London,  or  elsewhere;  all  plays 
to  be  allowed  by  Sam  Danyell." 

Whatever  the  exact  title  of  his  office  may 
have  been,  its  function,  it  would  appear,  was 
the  licensing  of  plays.  In  161 8  a  license 
granted  him  to  print  his  "  History  of  Eng- 
land" describes  him  as  "our  well-beloued 
seruant  Samuel  Daniell,  one  of  the  Groomes 
of  the  Priuy  Chamber,  to  our  deerest  wife  the 
Queen." 

Daniel  was  as  well  mannered  for  his  time 
as  he  was  "  well-languaged,"  but  he  was  ex- 
tremely sensitive,  and  when  Jonson  was  made 
court  poet  he  retired  to  his  farm. 

However  these  early  poets  may  have  ob- 
tained their  titles  of  poets  laureate  to  the 
various  kings  they  served,  the  first  regularly 
appointed  incumbent  was  Ben  Jonson.  The 
earlier,  or  volunteer  poets  as  they  were  called, 
seemed  to  have  served  upon  special  occasions 
merely,  and  to  have  received  only  occasional 
pay.  King  James  made  Ben  Jonson  his 
xii 


INTRODUCTION 

court  poet,  and  Charles  I  confirmed  him  in 
the  appointment  by  letters  patent  and  an 
annual  salary.  The  office  has  been  filled 
almost  continuously  fi-om  then  till  now. 

The  duties  of  a  poet  laureate  do  not  seem 
to  have  been  clearly  defined.  Charles  gave 
his  letters  patent  to  Jonson  "  in  consideration 
of  the  good  and  acceptable  service  done  vnto 
vs  and  our  said  father  by  the  said  Benjamin 
Johnson,  and  especially  to  encourage  him  to 
proceede  in  those  services  of  his  witt  and 
penn,  which  wee  have  enjoined  vnto  him,  and 
which  we  expect  from  him."  Jonson  found 
more  to  do  than  most  others  in  his  position, 
owing  to  the  climax  of  popularity  of  the 
masques  which  "  were  made  and  performed 
for  the  Court  and  the  houses  of  the  nobles, 
and  the  scenery  was  as  gorgeous  and  varied 
as  the  scenery  of  the  play  house  proper  was 
poor  and  unchanging."^  "As  a  masque- 
writer  he  gave  lasting  worth  by  sheer  poetic 
force  to  an  unreal  and  artificial  genre."  At 
first  an  annual  New  Year's  Ode  was  written  by 
the  laureate  and,  set  to  music,  was,  like  the 
masques,  performed  in  the  king's  presence. 
Shadwell,  of  his  own  accord,  added  an  annual 
Birthday  Ode. 

Says  Gibbon :  "  From  Augustus  to  Louis  the 
muse  has  been  too  often  false  and  venal,  but 

1  Stopford  Brooke,  "  Engl.  Lit.,"  Ch.  IV,  Sec.  89. 
xiii 


INTRODUCTION 

I  much  doubt  whether  any  age  or  Court  can 
produce  a  similar  estabUshment  of  a  stipendi- 
ary poet,  who  in  every  reign,  and  at  all  events, 
is  bound  to  furnish,  twice  a  year,  a  measure  of 
praise  and  verse,  such  as  I  believe  may  be 
sung  in  the  chapel  and  in  the  presence  of  a 
Sovereign." 

It  was  quite  natural  that  such  perfunctory 
affairs  should,  in  the  hands  of  mediocre  poets, 
too  often  degenerate  into  empty  smoothness 
or  mere  doggerel,  and  it  is  not  surprising  to 
find  that  the  sentiments  of  Peter  Pindar,  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  lines,  were  shared  by 
many  others : 

"WILL  WHITEHEAD,  Sire,  hath  wish'd  the  world 
good  nighty 

Pray  who  shall  fabricate  your  next  year's  Ode? 

As  I  most  laudably  can  rm^and  write^ 

Let  me  the  line  with  George's  virtues  load  ! 
"  Sire,  if  you'll  make  me  Laureat,  I  declare 

I'll  chaunt  you,  if  you  do  but  take  the  air; 

And  if  it  should  your  Royal  humour  suit, 

I'll  sing  your  horse  to  boot. 

"  But,  Sire,  perchance  you've  been  be-rhym'd  so  long. 
Your  Royal  Ear  is  sick  of  BIRTH-DAY  SONG  ! 
In  this  case,  you'll  be  better  serv'd  by  NONE  ? 
For,  order  me  the  SALARY  and  WINE, 
I'll  whisper  to  APOLLO  and  the  NINE, 
And  so  contrive  to  let  the  ODE  ALONE." 

With  time  and  contumely  both  New  Year's 
and  Birthday  Odes  were  dropped :  Pye,  in  the 


INTRODUCTION 

days  of  George  III.,  was  the  last  laureate  from 
whom  they  were  regularly  expected,  and  now 
the  official  singer  is  free  to  find  his  own  time  and 
theme  for  celebrating  the  glories  of  the  reign. 
The  position  has,  with  rare  exceptions, 
been  a  partisan  one.  Dry  den  and  Southey 
became  political  turncoats  to  attain  it,  while 
Jonson  as  well  as  Dryden  found  it  sufficient 
excuse  for  changing  his  faith.  Partisan  merit 
in  a  poet  does  not  necessarily  mean  poetical 
merit,  and  this  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  a  pe- 
rusal of  the  lives  and  writings  of  the  poets 
laureate.  The  successful  recipient  of  court 
favor  has,  from  the  first,  been  a  target  for  the 
wit  and  sarcasm  of  other  poets,  and  so  low 
did  the  reputation  of  the  office  fall  during  the 
tenure  of  some  of  its  occupants,  that  it  came 
to  be  the  laughing-stock  of  all. 

"  That  Laurel,  once  by  Dryden  worn, 
But  since  by  many  dunces  borne, 
Each  rival  dunce  cry'd  fie  on ! 
The  boasted  laurel  was,  they  said, 

No  more  than  a  poor 

At  Court  call'd  Dann-de-Lion." 

A  collection  of  the  satires,  gibes,  and  epi- 
grammatic remarks  which  have  been  written 
on  the  laureates,  from  Jonson  to  "  Miss  "  Ten- 
nyson, would  make  far  better  reading  than  a 
collection  of  their  official  odes. 

XV 


INTRODUCTION 

The  pay  of  Charles  I  for  his  laureate's 
services  was  an  annual  hundred  pounds  and  a 
tierce  of  the  poet's  favorite  Canary  wine,  and 
this  remained  the  stipend  of  the  office  until 
Pye's  time,  when  the  sum  oi  £2^  was  substi- 
tuted for  the  wine.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that 
many  of  the  poets  seemed  to  inherit  an  extrava- 
gant taste  for  the  wine  along  with  the  pension. 
Jonson  "  would  many  times  exceed  in  drink ; 
Canarie  was  his  beloved  liquor.  Then  he  would 
tumble  home  to  bed,  and  when  he  had  thor- 
oughly perspired,  then  to  studie."  Shadwell 
was  charged  with  many  immoralities.  Eusden 
"  was  a  person  of  great  hopes  in  his  youth, 
though  at  last  he  turned  out  a  drunken  par- 
son." Cibber  loved  his  bottle,  and  even  Pye 
was  called  "  a  pleasant,  convivial  man." 

The  fact  that  certain  poets  have  occupied 
the  post  of  laureate  adds  Httle  to  their  reputa- 
tion, but  a  lustre  is  shed  upon  the  office  by 
such  names  as  "  The  mighty  Prince  of  Poets, 
learned  Ben,"  Wordsworth  and  Tennyson. 

"  I  sent  thee  late  a  rosy  wreath, 
Not  so  much  honouring  thee, 
As  giving  it  a  hope  that  there 
It  could  not  withered  be ; 

"  But  thou  thereon  did'st  only  breathe. 
And  sent'st  it  back  to  me. 
Since  when  it  grows,  and  smells,  I  swear, 
Notofitself,  but  thee." 

xvi 


INTRODUCTION 

The  following  lines,  from  a  parody  on  one  of 
Tennyson's  poems  in  the  "  Book  of  Ballads : 
Edited  by  Bon  Gaultier "  may  not  be  in  too 
Ught  a  key : 

"  Oh  that  would  be  the  post  for  me  ! 
With  plenty  to  get,  and  nothing  to  do 
But  to  deck  a  pet  poodle  with  ribbons  of  blue, 
And  whistle  a  tune  to  the  Queen's  cockatoo. 
And  scribble  of  verses  remarkably  few. 
And  at  evening  empty  a  bottle  or  two, 
Quaffingly,  quaffingly ! 

"  'Tis  I  would  be 

The  Laureate  bold, 
With  my  butt  of  sherry. 
To  keep  me  merry. 
And  nothing  to  do  but  to  pocket  my  gold  !  " 


XVll 


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xix 


V 


PART  I 
THE-' VOLUNTEER   LAUREATES 


THE    VOLUNTEER    LAUREATES 


GEOFFREY      CHAUCER      (1340?— 
1400). 

I .  The  workes  of  |  Geffray  Chau  |  cer 
newly  printed  /  with  |  dyuers  workes 
whi  I  che  were  neuer  in  |  print  befoife':'  *| 
As  in  the  table  more  playnly  |  d6the  am- 
pere. I  Cum  priuilegio,  [colopbori]  '•  ^ 
Thus  endeth  the  workes  of  Geffray  | 
Chaucer.  Printed  at  Lodon  |  by  Thomas 
Godfray.  |  The  yere  of  our  lorde.  M.D. 
xxxii. 

Folio.       Black-letter.      Double    columns. 

Woodcuts.     First  collected  edition. 

Collation:     A,   four  leaves;     B  —  Pp,   in 

sixes ;  Qq,  nine  leaves ;  Rr  —  Vvv,  in  sixes. 

3 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

The  "  Canterbury  Tales,"  with  the  exception  of  the 
"  Ploughman's  Tale,"  which  was  not  printed  until  the 
edition  of  1542,  were  published  before,  by  Caxton, 
Wynken  de  Worde,  and  Pynson,  and  some  of  the 
minor  works  were  printed  by  Caxton  and  Pynson,  but 
this  was  the  first  attempt  to  collect  Chaucer's  whole 
works  into  one  volume.  It  was  edited  by  William 
Thynne  (d.  1546). 

This  is  the  only  known  book  printed  by  Thomas 
Godfray  bearing  a  date. 

JOHN  GOWER   (1325?— 1408). 

2.  Jo,  Gower  de  |  confeflione  |  Aman-  | 
tis,  I  ^  Imprinted  at  London  in  Flete-  | 
ftrete  by  Thomas  Berthe-  |  lette  Printer 
to  the  I  kingis  grace  |  AN.  |  M.D.XXX- 
II.  I  Cvm  Privilegio. 

Folio.      Gothic  black-letter.     Double  col- 
umns.    Second  edition. 
-^  / ':  j /Cblktion:    aa,  eight  leaves;   A  —  Z   and 
'  '  a  ~  i5,.  in  sixes. 

>  ''.  '.  ,^^3  Vas«'the  "moral"  Gower's  only  work  in  Eng- 
lish. It  exists  in  a  large  number  of  manuscripts  follow- 
ing two  versions  differing  slightly  from  each  other.  The 
earlier  version  is  dedicated  to  Richard  II,  and  has  a 
complimentary  notice  of  Chaucer ;  the  later  version, 
Richard's  power  having  waned,  is  dedicated  to  Henry 
of  Lancaster  and  says  nothing  about  Chaucer. 

The  first  printed  edition  by  Caxton,  of  1483,  fol- 
lows the  later  version.  Berthelet,  printer  to  the  king, 
in  this  edition  followed  Caxton *s  text,  but  in  modern- 
ized spelling ;  he  added  the  dedication  to  Richard  of 


THE  VOLUNTEER  LAUREATES 

the  early  manuscript  version,  in  a  preface,  and  gives 
an  account  of  Gower's  tomb  and  of  his  friendship  with 
Chaucer. 


JOHN  SKELTON  (1460  ?— 1529  ?). 
3.  ^  Here  after  |  foloweth  a  ly-  |  tell  boke, 
whiche  hath  to  name,  |  why  come  ye  nat 
to  courte,  |  compyled  by  mayfter  |  Skel- 
ton  poete  |  Laureate.  |  [Colophon]  ^ 
Imprinted  |  at  London  by  |  me  Richard 
I  kele  I  dwellig  in  the  |  powltry  at  the  | 
longe  Ihop  |  vnder  faynt  |  myldredes  | 
chyrch. 

Octavo.    Black-letter.    First  edition.    Abt. 

1550- 

Collation :  A  —  D,  in  eights. 

Skelton's  advances  to  Cardinal  Wolsey  not  being  well 
received,  he  poured  out  upon  the  prelate  the  vials  of 
his  wrath  in  several  poems.  In  this  "  breathless 
rhyme  "  he  turned  upon  him  "  the  full  force  of  his  in- 
vective, and  denounced  the  cardinal's  luxurious  life, 
insatiate  ambition,  and  insolence  of  bearing." 

The  title-page  has  woodcut  head-  and  foot-bands 
and  a  device  made  up  of  printers'  ornaments  in  the 
shape  of  a  cross.  On  the  verso  of  the  title-page  is  a 
woodcut  representing  two  figures  between  head-  and 
foot-bands,  one  of  whom  is  crowned  with  laurel  and  is 
entitled  "  Skelton  "  in  a  scroll  above;  the  other  has  a 
blank  scroll  above  his  head,  but  is  supposed  by  Mr. 
Dyce  to  represent  Wolsey,  On  the  verso  of  the  colo- 
phon leaf  is  a  woodcut  of  the  author  seated  at  a  read- 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

ing-desk,  with  an  inscription  in  the  upper  right-hand 
corner,  "  Skelton  poyet." 

"At  the  Long  Shop  in  the  Poultry  we  can  see  the 
press  at  work  almost  without  a  break  from  the  early 
years  of  the  sixteenth  century  till  the  close  of  the  first 
quarter  of  the  seventeenth.  .  .  .  In  1542  Richard 
Kele's  name  is  found  in  a  Primer  in  Englysh  which 
was  issued  from  this  house.  .  .  .  Perhaps  the 
most  interesting  of  his  publications,  next  to  the  edition 
of  Chaucer,  which  he  shared  with  Toye  and  Bonham, 
are  the  series  of  poems  by  John  Skelton,  called  "  Why 
Come  ye  not  to  Courte  ?  Colin  Clout,  and  The  Boke  of 
Phyllip  Sparowe."  They  were  issued  in  octavo  form, 
and  were  evidently  very  hastily  turned  out  from  the 
press.     .     .     .     " — Plomer. 


^  Pithy  plea-  |  faunt  and  profita-  |  ble 
workes  of  mai-  |  fter  Skelton,  |  Poete 
Lau-  I  reate.  |  Nowe  collected  and  | 
newly  publifhed.  |  Anno  |  1568.  |  ^^ 
Imprinted  at  London  in  Fleteftreate,  | 
neare  vnto  faint  Dunftones  |  churche  by 
Thomas  |  Marfhe. 

Octavo.     Black-letter.     First  edition. 

Collation :     Four    leaves   (no    signature) ; 

A  —  Aa4,  in  eights. 


Pithy  Pleafaunt  and  Profitable  |  Workes 

I  Of  I  Maifter  Skelton,  |  Poete  Laureate  | 

6 


THE  VOLUNTEER  LAUREATES 

To  King  Henry  the  Vlllth.  |  Britanni- 
carum  Literarum  lumen  et  decus.  |  Eraf- 
mi  Epift.  ad  Hen.  8.  |  [Ornament] 
London  :  |  Printed  for  C.  Davis  in  Pater- 
nofter  Row.  |  MDCCXXXVI. 

Duodecimo. 

Collation:   A,  eight    leaves;    B  —  O3,  in 

twelves. 


EDMUND   SPENSER  (1552?— 1599). 

The  Faerie  |  Qveene.  |  Difpofed  into 
twelue  books,  |  Fafhioning  |  XH.  Morall 
vertues.  |  London  |  Printed  for  William 
Ponfonbie.  1 1590. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 
Collation  :  A  —  Qq4,  in  eights. 

The  first  edition  of  the  first  part.  Although  the  title 
•calls  for  twelve  books,  only  six  were  ever  published, 
the  first  three  of  which  are  contained  in  this  volume. 
In  some  copies  a  blank  space  is  left  on  page  332  for  the 
insertion  of  several  Welsh  words,  apparently  indicating 
such  copies  as  the  first  issue. 


7.  The  Second  |  Part  Of  The  |  Faerie 
Qveene.  |  Containing  |  The  Fovrth,  | 
Fifth,   and   |   Sixth   Bookes.    |   By    Ed. 

7 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

Spenfer.  |  Imprinted  at  London  for  VVil-^ 
Ham  I  Ponfonby.      1596. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 
Collation :  A  —  Kk4,  in  eights. 

This  is  the  first  edition  of  the  second  part,  uniform 
with  that  of  the  first  part  published  in  1590,  and  also 
with  the  second  edition  of  that  part  published  in  1596* 
with  which  this  is  generally  found. 


8.  Complaints.  |  Containing  fundrie  |  fmall 
Poemes  of  the  |  Worlds  Va-  |  nitie.  | 
Whereof  the  next  Page  |  maketh  menti- 
I  on.  I  By  Ed.  Sp.  |  London.  |  Imprinted 
for  William  |  Ponfonbie,  dwelling  in 
Paules  I  Churchyard  at  the  figne  of  |  the 
Bifhops  head.  |  1591. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 
Collation:  A — Z,  in  fours. 


9.  Colin  Clovts  I  Come  home  againe.  |  By 
Ed.  Spencer.  |  [Printer's  mark]  London  | 
Printed  for  William  Ponfonbie.  |  1595. 
[Colophon.]  London  |  Printed  by  T.  C. 
for  William  Ponfonbie.  |  1595. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 
Collation  :  A — K,  in  fours. 
8 


THE  VOLUNTEER  LAUREATES 

SAMUEL   DANIEL   (1562— 1619). 

10.  The  I  Poeticall  |  Essayes  |  Of  |  Sam. 
Danyel.  |  Newly  corrected  and  aug-  | 
merited.  |  ^tas  prima  canat  veneres, 
I  proftrema  tumultus.  |  At  London  | 
Printed  by  P.  Short  for  Simon  |  Water- 
fon.     1599. 

Quarto.  First  collected  edition. 
■  Collation :  Three  leaves  (no  signatures) ; 
B — Z  and  Aa — Ee,  in  fours ;  A,  two  leaves ; 
B  —  E,  in  fours;  F,  three  leaves;  A,  two 
leaves;  B — C,  in  fours;  D,  two  leaves; 
A  —  K  and  Bb  —  Ff,  in  fours;  Gg,  two 
leaves. 

The  different  divisions  of  this  work  were  originally 
issued  separately,  and  the  unsold  portions  of  the  edi- 
tions were  brought  together  into  one  volume.  The 
title-page  to  the  "  Civil  Wars"  was  canceled,  and  in  its 
place  was  substituted  a  general  title  followed  by  a 
dedication  to  Sir  Charles  Blunt,  and  a  new  printed  title 
to  the  "Civil  Wars."  Beginning  with  signature  B, 
this  volume  is  identical  with  the  parts  as  issued  sepa- 
rately. 

Headley  says  in  his  account  of  Daniel :  "  Though 
very  rarely  sublime,  he  has  skill  in  the  pathetic,  and 
his  pages  are  disgraced  with  neither  pedantry  nor  con- 
ceit. We  find  both  in  his  poetry  and  prose  such  a  legiti- 
mate and  rational  flow  of  language  as  approaches  nearer 
the  style  of  the  i8th  than  the  i6th  century,  and  of 
which  we  may  safely  assert  that  it  will  never  become 
obsolete.     He  certainly  was  the  Atticus  of  his  day." 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

11.  The  I  Works  |  of  |  Samvel  Daniel  | 
Newly  augmented.  |  ^tas  prima  canat 
veneres  |  postrema  tumultus.  |  London 
I  Printed  for  Simon  Waterfon.  |  1601. 

Folio.     Second  collected  edition. 
Collation:  A,  two  leaves;  B — O,  in  sixes; 
P — T,  in  fours;  A — N,  in  sixes;  A — C4, 
in  sixes. 

The  sixth  book  of  the  "  Civill  Warres  "  appears  here 
for  the  first  time.  One  of  a  few  copies  of  the  edition 
of  1602,  dated  i6oi,and  presented  by  the  author  to  his 
friends. 

12.  The  Civile  Wares  |  betweene  the  Howfes 
of  Lancafter  |  and  Yorke  corrected  and 
continued  by  Samuel  Daniel  one  of  the 
Groomes  |  of  hir  Maiesties  most  honora- 
ble I  Priuie  Chamber.  |  JEtSLS  prima  canat 
veneres  |  postrema  tumultus.  |  Printed  | 
At  London  |  by  Simon  Waterfonne,  | 
1609:  I  Wockfonus  fculp:  | 

Quarto.     First  complete  edition. 
Collation:    A — C,   in   fours;    D  —  R4,  in 
eights. 

The  emblematic  title-page,  with  Daniel's  portrait  in 
the  center  compartment,  was  engraved  by  Thomas 
Cockson  (fl.  1609-1636). 

The  edition  contains  eight  books,  ending  with  the 

10 


THE  VOLUNTEER  LAUREATES 

marriage  of  Edward  IV  to  Elizabeth  Wydvil.  In  the 
"Epistle  Dedicatorie  "  to  the  Countess  of  Pembroke 
the  author  says :  "  I  truft  I  fhall  doo  a  gratefuU  worke 
to  my  Countrie,  to  continue  the  fame,  vnto  the  glorious 
Vnion  of  Hen.  7 :  from  whence  is  defcended  our  pref- 
ent  HappinefTe." 


13.  The  I  Whole  |  Workes  Of  |  Samvel 
Daniel  Efquire  |  in  Poetrie.  |  London,  | 
Printed  by  Nicholas  Okes,  for  |  Simon 
Waterson,  and  are  to  be  |  fold  at  his 
fhoppe  in  Paules  Church-  |  yard,  at  the 
Signe  of  the  Crowne.  j  1623. 

Quarto. 

Collation ;  A,  two  leaves ;  B  and  C,  four 
leaves  each ;  D  —  R4,  in  eights ;  A  —  N4, 
in  eights ;  Aa  —  Tt6,  in  eights. 

This  is  the  most  complete  edition  of  Daniel's  works, 
and  it  was  published  after  his  death  by  his  brother, 
John  Daniel,  The  portion  of  the  volume  comprising 
the  "  Civil  Wars  "  is  that  part  of  the  identical  edition 
of  1609  remaining  unsold. 


II 


PART   II 
POETS   LAUREATE 

BY  ROYAL  LETTERS  PATENT 


REIGNS   OF  JAMES   I  AND   CHARLES  I 


BENJAMIN   JONSON,  catted  BEN 
(1573?  — 1637). 

James  the  First,  himself  an  author,  was  not  slow  to 
recognize  the  literary  merits  of  others,  and  upon  the 
publication  of  Jonson's  works  in  1616,  Shakespeare 
being  now  dead,  the  king  made  him  court  poet,  with  a 
salary  of  one  hundred  pounds  per  annum,  for  the  rest 
of  his  life. 

Jonson's  plays  had  already  had  great  vogue,  and  his 
success  in  writing  the  masques  and  barriers  so  popu- 
lar in  Elizabeth's  time  established  his  position  and 
reputation  at  court.  But  he  was  improvident,  and 
later  we  find  him  thanking  King  Charles  for  a  gift  of 
an  extra  hundred  pounds,  sent  to  relieve  him  in  his 
extremity.  This  gift  also  served  as  an  occasion  for  a 
petition  to  the  king  to  increase  the  annual  stipend. 

"The  humble  petition  of  poor  Ben 
To  the  best  of  monarchs,  masters,  men. 
Doth  most  humbly  show  it 
To  your  Majesty,  your  poet; 

IS 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

That  whereas  your  royal  father 
James  the  blessed,  pleased  the  rather 
Of  his  special  grace  to  letters 
To  make  all  the  Muses  debtors 
To  his  bounty,  by  extension 
Of  a  free  poetic  pension, 
A  large  hundred  marks  annuity 
To  be  given  me  in  gratuity. 

Please,  your  Majesty,  to  make, 
Of  your  grace,  for  goodness  sake, 
Those  your  father's  marks  your  pounds." 

The  request  was  granted,  and  to  the  hundred  pounds 
was  added  a  tierce  of  Canary  wine,  the  poet's  favorite 
vintage. 

Jonson's  life  was  one  of  great  variety.  He  was 
born  in  London,  of  good  parentage.  He  was  sent 
to  a  school  connected  with  St.  Martin-in-the-Fields 
Church  and  also  to  Westminster  School,  but  it  was  as 
bricklayer's  apprentice,  soldier  in  the  war  in  Flanders, 
actor  and  mender  of  old  plays,  as  well  as  by  his  life- 
longhabit  of  study,  that  he  gained  the  knowledge  of  men 
and  things  which  stands  out  so  conspicuously  in  his 
virile  dramas,  masques,  hymns  and  prose  writings. 

An  extensive  traveler  for  his  day,  he  was  widely  known 
among  men  of  mark.  Bluff  and  outspoken,  he  often  fell 
into  troubles  which  a  less  honest  man  might  have 
avoided.  Prodigal  of  his  means  and  loving  "  Spanish 
canary  wine  "  not  wisely,  his  last  days  were  unhappy. 

At  his  death  it  was  proposed  to  erect  a  monument 
to  his  memory  in  Westminster,  but  the  plan  was  never 
carried  into  execution.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  sculptured 
structure  could  so  fitly  commemorate  his  genius  as  the 
simple  lines  written  by  Sir  John  Young,  "O  rare  Ben 


i6 


BENJAMIN  JONSON 

14.  The  I  Workes  |  of  |  Beniamin  Jonson.  | 
-neque,  me  vt  miretur  turba,  |  laboro : 
I  Contentus  paucis  lectoribus.  |  Imprinted 
at  I  London  by  |  Will  Stansby  |  An°  D. 
1616. 

Folio.     First  collected  edition. 
-  Collation :   Engraved  title-page,  one  leaf; 
A  —  Qqqq4,  in  sixes. 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  this  folio,  published  in  1616,  the 
author  did  not  include  the  comedies  of  Bartholomew 
Fair,  produced  in  16 14,  and  the  Devil  ^s  an  Ass,  pro- 
duced in  1616.  It  is  probable,  also,  that  a  number  of 
minor  pieces  written  before  this  time  (many  are  with- 
out any  date)  were  reserved  by  the  author  for  a  future 
volume  of  his  collected  Works : 

"He  seems,"  says  Gifford,  "to  have  meditated  a 
complete  edition  of  all  his  works;  but  he  apparently 
grew  weary  towards  the  conclusion  of  the  volume,  and 
never  (unless  peculiarly  called  upon)  had  recourse  to 
the  press  afterwards." — Allibone. 

"  The  second  folio  is  a  wretched  continuation  of  the 
first,  printed  from  the  MSS.  surreptitiously  obtained 
during  his  life  or  ignorantly  hurried  through  the  press 
after  his  death.  It  bears  a  variety  of  dates,  from  1631 
to  1641  inclusive.  It  is  probable  that  he  looked  for- 
ward to  a  period  of  retirement  and  ease;  but  the  loss 
of  his  MSS.  by  fire,  and  the  fatal  illness  which  almost 
immediately  afterwards  seized  him,  rendered  all  such 
views  abortive.  It  is  remarkable  that  he  calls  his 
Epigrams  *  Book  the  First';  he  had,  therefore,  others 
in  his  hand;  but  they  have  perished."— Memoir  of 
Jonson. 

17 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

Stansby,  the  printer  of  the  book,  was  one  of  the  best 
of  his  time ;  he  had  a  good  stock  of  type,  his  ornaments 
were  well  designed,  and  his  presswork  is  better  than 
most  of  that  done  by  his  contemporaries. 

The  emblematic  title-page,  in  compartments,  was  en- 
graved by  W.  Hole  or  Holle  (  fl.  1600-1630). 


15.  The  I  VVorkes  |  of  |  Benjamin  Jonson.  | 
The  fecond  Volume.  |  Containing  |  These 
Playes,  |  Viz.  |  I  Bartholomew  Fayre.  | 
2  The  Staple  of  Newes.  |  3  The  Divell  is 
an  Affe.  |  London,  |  Printed  for  Richard 
Meighen.  |  1640. 

Folio.     First  edition. 

Collation :  A,  six  leaves ;  B  —  M,  in  fours ; 
Aa  —  Cc,  in  fours;  D  —  H,  in  fours;  I, 
six  leaves ;  N  —  Y4,  in  fours ;  B  —  Q,  in 
fours ;  R,  two  leaves ;  S  —  X,  in  fours ;  Y, 
two  leaves;  Z,  four  leaves;  Aa  —  Oo,  in 
fours ;  Pp,  two  leaves ;  Qq,  four  leaves  ; 
A  —  K,  in  fours ;  L,  two  leaves ;  M  —  R, 
in  fours ;  A  —  P,  in  fours ;  Q,  two  leaves ; 
R  —  V,  in  fours. 

16.  Ben:  lonfon's  Exe-  |  cration  againft  | 
Vvlcan.  I  With  divers  Epigrams  by  |  the 
fame  Author  to  feverall  |  Noble  Perfon- 
ages    in  |  this  Kingdome.  |  Never  Pub- 

i8 


BENJAMIN  JONSON 

lifhed  before.  |  London :  |  Printed  by  J. 
O.  for  John  Benfon,  and  |  are  to  be  fold 
at  his  fhop  at  St.  Dunftans  |  Church-yard 
in  Fleet- ftreete.      1640. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 

Collation  :  Portrait ;  A  —  F,  in  fours ;  f,  two 

leaves ;  G,  four  leaves. 

"Between  this  date  [1621]  and  1623  occurred  the 
greatest  calamity  of  Jonson's  private  life,  the  burning 
of  his  library,  which,  although  repeatedly  impoverished 
by  forced  sales  (Conversations,  $  13),  was  probably 
among  the  richest  in  England,  and  was,  moreover, 
stored  with  poetic  and  scholarly  lucubrations  of  his 
own.  His  *  Execration  against  Vulcan,'  in  which  he 
made  poetic  capital  of  his  loss,  enables  us  to  appreciate 
its  exact  extent." — Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 

The  portrait  of  Jonson  included  in  the  volume  is  the 
well-known  engraving  by  Robert  Vaughan  (fl.  1650). 
It  has  below  an  inscription  of  eight  lines  in  Latin  and 
the  following  couplet  signed  by  Ab.  Hall : 

"  O  could  there  be  an  art  found  out  that  might 
Produce  his  shape  soe  lively  as  to  Write  !  " 

In  its  first  state  it  had  an  additional  inscription, — 
"Are  to  be  sould  by  William  Peake," — and  was  proba- 
bly issued  as  a  separate  print.  That  inscription  was 
then  erased,  and  it  was  used  to  ornament  the  above 
volume  and  the  collected  "  Works  "  of  the  same  date. 


17.    Q.  Horatius  J  Flaccus:  |  His  Art  of  Poe- 
try. I  Englished  By  |  Ben :  Jonfon  |  With 

^9 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

other  Workes  of  the  |  Author,  never 
Printed  |  before.  |  London:  |  Printed  by 
J.  Okes,  for  John  |  Benfon.     1640. 

Duodecimo.     First  edition. 
Collation:  Frontispiece;  A — C,  in  twelves; 
D,  five  leaves;  d,  fourteen  leaves;  E,  four 
leaves ;  e,  twelve  leaves ;  F  and  G,  twelve 
leaves  each. 

The  frontispiece  was  engraved  by  William  Marshall 
(fl.  1630-1650).  It  is  a  portrait  bust  of  Jonson,  lau- 
reated,  standing  in  a  niche,  with  the  inscription  below  : 
"  Q.  Horativs  Flaccus,  his  Art  of  Poetry.  Englifht  by 
Ben:  Jonfon.  London.  Printed  for  John  Benfon. 
1640." 


REIGNS    OF   CHARLES   I    AND 
CHARLES    II 


SIR  WILLIAM  D'AVENANT  (1605/6 
—1668). 

The  son  of  a  vintner  and  innkeeper,  D'Avenant  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  his  native  town,  Oxford, 
first  "  in  the  Free  School  joining  to  Magd.  Coll.,"  and 
then  at  Lincoln  College. 


SIR   WILLIAM   D'AVENANT 

D'Avenant  was  the  cleverest  child  of  the  family,  and 

is  in  explanation  of  this,  coupled  with  the  fact  that 
Shakespeare  was  a  frequent  guest  at  the  D'Avenant 
inn,  that  the  following  story  comes  down  to  us  from 
Pope: 

"  One  day,  when  Shakspeare  was  just  arrived,  and 
the  boy  sent  for  from  school  to  him,  a  head  of  one  of 
the  colleges,  who  was  pretty  well  acquainted  with  the 
affairs  of  the  family,  met  the  child  running  home,  and 
asked  him  whither  he  was  going  in  so  much  haste : 
the  boy  said,  *  to  my  godfather  Shakspeare.' — *  Fie, 
child,'  says  the  old  gentleman,*  why  are  you  so  super- 
fluous ?  Have  you  not  learnt  yet  that  you  should  not 
use  the  name  of  God  in  vain  ?  '  " 

Pope  adds  that  Sir  William  seemed  fond  of  having 
this  taken  for  truth. 

He  first  came  to  court  as  a  page,  and  there  he  spent 
his  life,  sharing  the  vicissitudes  of  the  Royalists,  to 
whose  cause  he  was  always  attached,  taking  an  active 
part  in  the  Civil  War,  which  services  brought  him 
the  honor  of  knighthood  after  the  siege  of  Glouces- 
ter, in  1643.  On  his  way  to  Virginia,  on  a  mission 
for  the  king,  he  was  captured  by  the  agents  of  the 
Parliament  and  imprisoned  in  Cowes  Castle  and  in 
the  Tower  of  London. 

After  Jonson's  death,  D'Avenant  was  appointed  to 
the  vacant  laureateship,  though,  unlike  Jonson,  he  owed 
it  rather  to  the  favor  of  the  queen  than  to  real  merit. 
Charles  II  restored  him  to  the  office  after  its  interruption 
by  the  war,  and  also  granted  to  him  and  Thos.  Killigrew 
"  full  power  and  authority  to  erect  two  companies  of 
players,"  "  not  holding  it  necessary  totally  to  suppresse 
the  use  of  theaters,  because  wee  are  assured,  that,  if  the 
evill  and  scandall  in  the  plays  that  now  are  or  have  bin 
acted  were  taken  away,  the  same  might  serve  as  innocent 
and  harmlesse  divertisement  for  many  of  our  subjects." 

6  21 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

He  became  manager  of  various  playhouses,  where 
his  plays  were  successfully  performed,  and  where  he  put 
into  operation  some  of  his  theories  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  stage,  among  them  being  the  giving  of 
female  parts  to  women. 

Though  D'Avenant  was  not  one  of  the  great  poets, 
CoUey  Gibber's  dictum  is  probably  true,  that  to  him 
the  English  stage  "stands  more  deeply  indebted  than 
to  any  other  individual,  so  far  as  zealous  application 
deserves  to  be  considered  in  promoting  those  rational 
pleasures  that  are  fitted  for  the  entertainment  of  a  civil- 
ized peqple. " 


Madagafcar ;  |  With  Other  |  Poems.  | 
By  I  W.  Davenant.  |  London,  |  Printed 
by  John  Haviland  for  Thomas  Walkly,  | 
and  are  to  be  fold  at  his  fhop  at  the  Fly- 
ing Horfe  I  neare  Yorke  houfe.      1638. 

Small  octavo.     First  edition. 

Collation:   A,  nine  leaves;    B  —  Gii,   in 

twelves. 


The  author's  appreciative  exclamation,  "If  these 
Poems  live,  may  their  Memories,  by  whom  they  were 
cherish'd.  End.  Porter,  H.  larmyn,  live  with  them," 
prefaces  commendatory  verses  by  Sir  J.  Suckling,  T. 
Carew,  W.  Habington,  and  Endimion  Porter.  The 
volume  contains  one  of  D'Avenant's  first  attempts  at 
composition,  an  ode  called,  "  In  Remembrance  of 
Mafter  William  Shakefpeare,"  proving  his  admiration, 
whatever  his  relation  to  the  great  poet  may  have  been. 

22 


SIR  WILLIAM  D'AVENANT 

19.  Gondibert:  |  An  Heroick  |  Poem,  |  Writ- 
ten By  I  S^  William  D'Avenant.  [Printer's 
mark]  |  London,  |  Printed  by  Tho.  New- 
comb  for  John  Holden,  and  are  to  |  be 
fold  at  his  Shop  at  the  fign  of  the  Anchor 
in  the  |  New- Exchange,  165 1. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 

Collation:    A  —  Kkk3,    in    fours.      A    is 

blank. 


Two  books  of  "  Gondibert "  were  written  in  Paris 
before  D'Avenant  started  for  Virginia;  half  of  the 
third  book  was  written  during  his  confinement  in 
Cowes  Castle,  and  it  was  published  in  an  unfinished 
state  while  its  author  was  still  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower 
of  London.  In  the  "  Postscript  to  the  Reader"  the 
author  says :  "  But  'tis  high  time  to  ftrike  Sail,  and 
caft  Anchor  (though  I  have  run  but  half  my  Courfe) 
when  at  the  Helme  I  am  threatned  with  Death ;  who, 
•though  he  can  vifit  us  but  once,  feems  troublefome; 
and  even  in  the  Innocent  may  beget  fuch  a  gravity,  as 
diverts  the  Mufic  of  Verfe." 

D'Israeli  says  of  the  poem:  "The  fortunes  and  the 
fate  of  this  epic  are  as  extraordinary  as  the  poem 
itself.  Davenant  had  viewed  human  life  in  all  its 
shapes,  and  had  himself  taken  them.  A  poet  and  a 
wit,  the  creator  of  the  English  stage,  a  soldier,  an  emi- 
grant, a  courtier,  and  a  politician  and  at  all  times  a 
philosopher,  he  was,  too,  a  state  prisoner,  awaiting 
death  with  his  great  poem  in  his  hand." 

23 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

20.  Poem,  I  To  The  |  King's  |  Most  |  Sacred 
Majefty.  |  By  |  S'  William  D'Avenant. 
London,  |  Printed  for  Henry  Herring- 
man,  at  the  Anchor  in  the  Lower  |  Walk 
of  the  New  Exchange.     1663. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 

Collation :  A  —  E,  in  fours.    Ai  and  E4  are 

blank. 


21.  The  I  Works  |  of  |  S^  William  D'ave- 
nant  K*  |  Confiding  of  [  Thofe  which 
were  formerly  Printed,  |  And  |  Thofe 
which  he  defign'd  for  the  Prefs:  |  Now 
Published  |  Out  of  the  Authors  |  Origi- 
nail  Copies.  |  London:  |  Printed  by  T. 
N.  for  Henry  Herringman,  at  the  Sign 
of  the  I  Blew  Anchor  in  the  Lower  Walk 
of  the  New  |  Exchange.     1673. 

Foho.     First  complete  edition. 
Collation:    Portrait;    three    leaves;    A  — 
Eee2,  in  fours;  A — Ppp,  in  fours;  Aaaa — 
Oooo,  in  fours. 

Thomas  Newcomb,  the  printer  of  the  work,  was  one 
of  the  largest  employers  of  labor  in  the  trade  at  this 
time.  He  had  "  three  presses  and  a  proof  press,  twelve 
workmen  and  one  apprentice." — Plomer. 

24 


JOHN  DRYDEN 

REIGNS    OF    CHARLES    II    AND 
JAMES    II 

JOHN    DRYDEN    (1631^1700). 

D'Avenant  died  in  1668,  but  the  post  of  laureate  was 
not  filled  until  1670,  when  Charles  II  gave  it  to  "  John 
Dryden,  Master  of  Arts,  in  consideration  of  his  many 
acceptable  services  theretofore  done  to  his  present 
Majesty,  and  from  an  observation  of  his  learning  and 
eminent  abilities,  and  his  great  skill  and  elegant  style 
both  in  verse  and  prose."  Dryden  received  at  the 
same  time  the  post  of  royal  historiographer.  The 
salaries  from  both  these  offices  amounted  tO;^200,  with 
the  annual  butt  of  Canary  wine.  But  that  he  did  not 
consider  this  lavish  pay,  we  may  infer  from  his  lines  in 
"Threnodia  Augustalis,  a  Funeral  Pindarique  Poem 
Sacred  to  the  Happy  Memory  of  King  Charles  II "  : 

"  The  officious  Muses  came  along, 
A  gay,  harmonious  quire,  like  angels  ever  young. 
Though  little  was  their  hire^  and  light  their  gain, 
Yet  somewhat  to  their  share  he  threw, 
Fed  from  his  hand,  they  sung  and  flew 
Like  birds  of  Paradise,  that  lived  on  morning  dew." 

Dryden's  "  learning  and  eminent  abilities  "had  been 
shown  in  his  poems  and  plays,  to  be  sure,  but  it  may 
also  have  been  his  political  opinions,  loudly  expressed, 
which  made  him  so  "  acceptable  "  to  the  king.  Austin 
and  Ralph  say:  "There  is  no  doubt  that  the  poet's 
early  opinions  were  tinged  with  Puritanism,  and  that 
he  had  some  hopes  of  patronage  and  promotion  while 
that  party  was  in  power."  And  again  :  "  His  interest 
lay  entirely  with  the  Puritan  party.     In  1658,  on  the 

25 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS   LAUREATE 

death  of  Cromwell,  he  poured  forth  an  elegy.  Spratt, 
Waller,  and  other  poets  paid  their  tributes  also,  but 
Dryden's  lines  were  good  enough  to  create  great  ex- 
pectations from  future  efforts  of  his  Muse."  Whatever 
his  hereditary  religious  and  political  views,  Dryden 
found  no  difficulty  in  changing  them  whenever  worldly 
advantage  demanded.  On  the  return  of  Charles  II, 
he  paid  him  tribute  in  the  "  Astrsea  Redux  " ;  and  later, 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  pious  James,  who,  though 
he  had  appointed  him  laureate,  had  cut  off  the  butt  of 
Canary  from  his  annual  pay,  he  wrote  the  "  Hind  and 
Panther"  as  an  argument  for  Roman  Catholicism. 
But  in  the  end  these  changes  played  him  false,  for,  un- 
der the  Protestant  William,  the  Lord  Chancellor  Dorset 
deposed  the  Papist  poet  from  office. 

Austin  and  Ralph  say  too :  "  It  is  trite  to  tell 
any  well-informed  reader  that  Dryden  was  satirist, 
dramatist,  didactic  poet,  essayist,  translator,  contro- 
versialist, and  critic ;  that  he  was  monarch  of  his  own 
age,  and  the  idol  of  the  first  men  of  the  next ;  that  his 
life  is  the  history  of  half  a  century ;  and  that  he  is  at 
once  the  glory  and  the  shame  of  our  literature." 


22.  A  I  Poem  I  Upon  The  |  Death  |  Of  |  His 
Late  Highnefs,  |  Oliver,  |  Lord  Protect- 
or |  Of  |  England,  Scotland,  &  Ireland.  | 
Written  by  Mr.  Dryden.  |  London,  | 
Printed  for  William  Wilfon  ;  and  are  to 
be  fold  in  |  Well- Yard,  near  Little  St. 
Bartholomew's  |  Hofpital,  1659. 

Quarto. 

Collation  :     A,  four  leaves;  B,  two  leaves. 
26 


JOHN  DRYDEN 

23.  Aftraea  Redux.  |  A  |  Poem  |  On  the 
Happy  I  Reftoration  &  Return  |  Of  His 
Sacred  Majefty  |  Charles  the  Second.  | 
By  John  Driden.  |  Jam  Redit  &  Virgo, 
Redeunt  Saturnia  Regna.  Virgil.  |  Lon- 
don, I  Printed  by  J.  M.  for  Henry  Her- 
ringman,  and  are  to  be  fold  at  |  his  Shop, 
at  the  Blew- Anchor,  in  the  lower  Walk 
of  the  New- 1  Exchange,  1660. 

Folio.     First  edition. 

Collation:     One   leaf  without    signature; 

B  —  D,  in  twos. 

24.  The  Medall.  |  A  |  Satyre  |  Against  | 
Sedition.  |  By  the  Authour  of  Abfalom 
and  Achitophel.  |  Per  Graium  populos, 
mediaeque  per  Elidis  Vrbem  |  Ibatovans* 
Divumque  fibi  pofcebat  Honores.  |  Lon- 
don, I  Printed  for  Jacob  Tonfon  at  the 
Judge's  Head  in  |  Chancery- Lane,  near 
Fleet- ftreet.     1682. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 

Collation :   A,  four  leaves ;  a,  two  leaves ; 

B  —  D2,  in  fours. 

"  The  rejection  by  the  London  grand  jury,  on  Novem- 
ber 24,  1681,  of  the  bill  of  high  treason  presented 

27 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS   LAUREATE 

against  Lord  Shaftesbury  was  celebrated  by  a  medal 
having  on  one  side  a  portrait  of  Shaftesbury,  and  on 
the  other  a  sketch  of  London.  Dryden's  satire  on  it 
was  published  in  the  beginning  of  March,  1682,  within 
four  months  after  the  first  publication  of 'Absalom  and 
Achitophel.'  A  second  edition  appeared  in  1683,  and 
a  third  was  published  in  1692.  Like  'Absalom  and 
Achitophel,'  it  was  published  anonymously,  and  Dry- 
den's name  did  not  appear  on  the  title-page  of  any 
edition  of  either  poem  in  his  lifetime." — Christie. 

Dryden's  satire  called  forth  several  answers,  among 
which  are  "  Satire  to  his  Muse  "  and  the  "  Medal  of 
John  Bayes,"by  Thomas  Shad  well.  Shad  well's  attack 
was  answered  by  Dryden  in  "  Mac  Flecknoe."  Pope 
used  "  The  Medal "  as  a  model  when  he  wrote  his 
"Dunciad." 


25.  Mac  Flecknoe,  |  Or  A  |  Satyr  |  Upon 
The  I  True- Blew- Protestant  |  Poet,  T. 
S.  I  By  the  Author  of  |  Absalom  & 
Achitophel  |  London,  |  Printed  for  D. 
Green,  1682. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 

Collation :  A,  four  leaves ;  B,  three  leaves. 

"  *  Mac  Flecknoe  '  was  published  in  October,  1682. 
It  was  published  anonymously,  but  Dryden  spoke  of 
the  poem  as  his  own  in  his  '  Essay  on  Satire,'  1692,  and 
'Mac  Flecknoe  '  is  printed  at  the  beginning  of  the 
volume  of  Miscellanies  edited  by  Dryden  in  1684.  The 
publication  in  this  volume  was  the  second  edition  of 
the  poem ;  a  third  edition,  a  reprint  of  that  of  1684, 
appeared  in  1692.     The  first  edition  contained  many 

28 


JOHN  DRYDEN 

misprints.  .  .  .  The  text,  as  altered  in  1684,  is  Dry- 
den's  authorized  text." — Christie. 

By  Mac  Flecknoe  Dryden  meant  "poetical  son  of 
Flecknoe" — Richard  Flecknoe,  a  dull  poet,  then  de- 
ceased, and  of  use,  therefore,  for  the  purpose  of  satire. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  Flecknoe  ever  offended  Dry- 
den. His  "  Epigrams,"  1670,  contain  some  lines  ad- 
dressed to  Dryden  of  a  most  complimentary  character. 

26.  The  I  Hind  |  And  The  |  Panther.  |  A  | 
Poem,  I  In  Three  Parts.  |  — Antiquam 
exquiritematrem.  |  Et  vera,inceffu,patuit 
Dea. —  Virg.  |  London,  |  Printed  for  Ja- 
cob Tonfon,  at  the  Judges  Head  in  | 
Chancery  Lane  near  Fleetflreet,  1687. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 

Collation :  Four  leaves  without  signatures ; 

B  —  S,  in  fours ;  T,  five  leaves. 

James  II  succeeded  to  the  throne  February  6,  1685, 
and  within  a  year  after  his  accession  Dryden  became  a 
Roman  Catholic.  Then  he  wrote  "  The  Hind  and  the 
Panther,"  a  defense  of  his  new  religion  in  verse.  Dr. 
Johnson  says  of  it :  "  A  fable  which  exhibits  two  beasts 
talking  theology,  appears  at  once  full  of  absurdity  and 
it  was  accordingly  ridiculed;"  but  Hallam  defends  it: 
"  Yet  notwithstanding  their  evident  incoherence,  which 
sometimes  leads  to  the  verge  of  absurdity,  and  the  facil- 
ity they  give  to  ridicule,  I  am  not  sure  that  Dryden 
was  wrong  in  choosing  this  singular  fiction."  Charles 
Montagu,  the  future  Earl  of  Halifax,  and  Matthew 
Prior,  replied  to  it  in  a  parody  called  "  The  Hind  and 
the  Panther  Transversed." 

7  29 


SELECTED   WORKS  OF  THE  POETS   LAUREATE 

27.  The  I  Comedies,  |  Tragedies,  |  And  | 
Operas  |  Written  by  |  John  Dryden,  Efq ; 
I  Now  firft  Collected  together,  and  |  Cor- 
rected from  the  Originals.  |  In  two  vol- 
umes. I  [The  First  Volume]  London, 
I  Printed  for  Jacob  Tonfon,  at  Gray's- 
Inn-Gate  in  Gray's-Inn-Lane  ;  |  Thomas 
Bennet,  at  the  Half-Moon ;  and  Richard 
Wellington,  at  |  the  Lute  in  St.  Paul's 
Church-Yard.     MDCCI. 

Folio.     First  collected  edition. 
Two  volumes.     Portrait. 

The  portrait  of  Dryden,  by  Nicolas  Edelinck  (1680- 
1730),  after  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller  (1646-1723),  which 
was  published  with  this  edition,  was  also  issued  sepa- 
rately. 


REIGN    OF    WILLIAM    III. 


THOMAS  SHADWELL  (1642?— 1692). 

"  Crown  you  his  last  performance  with  applause. 
Who  love  like  him  our  liberties  and  laws. 
Let  but  the  'honest '  party  do  him  right, 
And  their  loud  claps  shall  give  him  fame,  in  spite 
Of  the  faint  hiss  of  grumbling  Jacobite." 

D'Urfey's  praise  of  Shadwell  in  the  prologue  of 
"The  Volunteers  "  proved  prophetic  in  a  way,  for  our 
interest  in  this  laureate  is  chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that 

30 


THOMAS  SHADWELL 

by  the  divine  right  of  kings  he  won  the  bays  which, 
by  right  of  merit,  belonged  to  Dryden,  and  because,  as 
Dryden's  political  enemy,  he  became  the  subject  of  the 
severest  satires  in  the  English  language. 

But  poetic  merit  does  not  seem  to  have  been  the 
standard  of  the  Earl  of  Dorset  when  he  appointed 
Shadwell,  if  we  may  judge  by  his  side  thrust  at  Dry- 
den in  his  reply  to  a  suggestion  that  there  were  poets 
worthier  of  the  honor :  "  He  did  not  pretend  to  deter- 
mine how  great  a  poet  Shadwell  might  be,  but  was 
sure  he  was  an  honest  man." 

Shadwell's  plays  are  said  to  "  show  great  powers  of 
observation  and  make  us  well  acquainted  with  the 
manners  of  his  age  "  : 

*•  With  just,  bold  strokes  he  dashes  here  and  there. 
Showing  great  mastery  with  little  care ; " 

and  in  his  life  he  was  true  to  the  principles  of  his  art. 

«  Be  thou  dull, 
Drink,  swear,  and  roar  :  forbear  no  lewd  delight 
Fit  for  thy  bulk  —  do  anything  but  write," 

says  Dryden  ;  and  again  : 

"  I  will  not  rake  the  dunghill  of  thy  crimes, 
For  who  would  read  thy  life  that  reads  thy  rhymes  ? ' ' 

This  from  his  enemy ;  to  make  the  picture  fairer  we 
must  quote  the  words  of  his  panegyrist,  Dr.  Nicholas 
Brady,  of  psalm-book  fame,  which  were  not  meant  to 
be  sarcastic : 

"  And  however  the  world  might  be  mistaken  in  him, 
he  had  a  much  deeper  sense  of  religion  than  many  who 
pretend  more  to  it." 

"  He  never  took  his  dose  of  opium  but  he  solemnly 
recommended  himself  to  God  by  prayer,  as  if  he  were 
then  about  to  resign  up  his  soul." 

31 


SELECTED  WORKS   OF  TIJE  POETS  LAUREATE 

28.  Epfom-Wells.  |  A  |  Comedy,  |  Acted  at 
the  I  Duke's  Theatre.  |  Written  by  | 
Tho.  Shadwell.  |  [Quotation] 
Licensed,  Feb.  17.  i67f  |  Roger  L'Ef- 
trange.  |  London,  |  Printed  by  J.  M.  for 
Henry  Herringman  at  the  Sign  of  the  | 
Blew  Anchor  in  the  Lower  Walk  of  the 
New  Exchange.  |  M.DC.LXXIIL 

Quarto.    First  edition. 

Collation :    A,    three    leaves ;   B  —  N,  in 

fours;  O,  one  leaf. 

"  The  famous  St.  Evremond,  in  particular,  has  made 
no  scruple  of  ranking  it,  in  point  of  merit,  with  Ben 
Jonson's  Bartholomew  Fair ;  yet  it  could  not  escape 
the  malevolence  and  envy  of  some  of  the  author's  con- 
temporaries [Dryden],  who  said  that  it  was  not  his." 
—  Baker.     Biographia  Dramatica. 

29.  The  I  Virtuoso.  |  A  |  Comedy,  |  Acted 
at  the  I  Duke's  Theatre.  |  Written  by  | 
Thomas  Shadwell.  |  Licenfed,  May  31. 
1676.  I  Roger  L'Estrange.  |  London,  | 
Printed  by  T.  N.  for  Henry  Herringman, 
at  the  Anchor  |  in  the  Lower  Walk  of 
the  New  Exchange,  1676. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 
Collation :  A  —  M4,  in  fours. 

32 


THOMAS  SHADWELL 

According  to  Langbaine,  the  "Virtuoso"  was  well 
received.  "  None  since  Jonson's  time  had  ever  drawn 
so  many  different  characters  of  humours,  and  with  such 
success."  Pope  tells  us  that  Wycherley  had  said  of  our 
author :  "  He  knew  how  to  start  a  fool  very  well,  but 
that  he  was  never  able  to  run  him  down." 

30.  The  I  Medal  |  Of  |  John  Bayes:  |  A  | 
Satyr  |  Against  |  Folly  and  Knavery.  | 

Facit  indignatio  verfus.    |  [device] 

London :  |  Printed  for  Richard  Janeway. 
1682. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 

Collation:  One  leaf  without  signature;  A — 

D,  in  fours. 

This,  with  the  «  Epistle  to  the  Tories,"  was  Shad- 
well's  reply  to  Dryden's  "The  Medal,"  in  which  .  .  . 
"  he  grossly  libelled  his  opponent,  both  as  poet  and 
man,  calling  him  an  *  abandoned  rascal,'  'half  wit, 
half  fool.'  "  It  so  angered  Dryden  that  he  devoted  a 
new  satire  to  Shadwell,  who  had  once  been  his  friend 

—  "Mac  Flecknoe,  or  a  Satire  on  the  True  Blew 
Protestant  Poet,  T.  S." 

31.  A  I  Congratulatory  Poem  |  To  the  Moft 
Illustrious  I  Queen  |  Mary  |  Upon  Her  | 
Arrival  |  In  |  England.  |  By  |  Tho. 
Shadwell.  |  London :  |  Printed  for  James 
Knapton,  at  the  Sign  of  the  Crown  in  S. 
Paul's  Church-  |  Yard.    MDCLXXXIX. 

Folio.     First  edition. 
Collation :  A,  four  leaves. 

33 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

32.  The  Dramatick  |  Works  |  of  |  Thomas 
Shadwell,  Efq;  |  In  Four  Volumes.  | 
London :  |  Printed  for  J.  Knapton,  at  the 
Crown  in  St.  |  Paul's  Church-Yard ;  and 
J.  Tonson,  at  |  Shakefpear's  Head  over- 
againfl  Katharine- Street  |  in  the  Strand. 
MDCCXX. 

Duodecimo.     First  collected  edition. 

Four  volumes.     Plates. 

The  first  volume  has  a  portrait  of  Shadwell,  aetat  55, 
engraved  by  Simon  Gribelin,  Jun.  (1661-1733). 

Edited  by  Shadwell's  eldest  son,  Sir  John  Shadwell. 


REIGNS  OF   WILLIAM   III,  ANNE    AND 
GEORGE    I 


NAHUM   TATE  (1652  — 1715). 

The  office  of  laureate  with  "poor  Nahum  "  in  it  in- 
sured for  nearly  five  and  twenty  years  the  activity  of  a 
poet  who,  to  repeat  the  sneering  words  of  Pope, 
"  Steals  much,  spends  little,  yet  has  nothing  left,"  or 
who,  as  Sir  Walter  Scott  said,  "  is  one  of  those  second- 
rate  bards,  who,  by  dint  of  pleonasm  and  expletive, 
can  find  smooth  lines  if  any  one  will  supply  ideas." 
The  office  supplied  more  ideas  to  Tate  than  to  any  of 
its  other  incumbents,  but  while  they  were  great  in 
quantity,  their  quality  was  not  as  good  as  it  might 

34 


NAHUM   TATE 

have  been,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  following  speci- 
men written  in  '*  sacred  memory  "  of  Charles  II : 

**  To  farthest  lands  let  groaning  winds  relate, 
And  rolling  Oceans  roar  their  master's  fate." 

Dryden  was  Tate's  early  friend  and  helped  him  with 
his  continuation  of"  Absalom  and  Achitophel,"  contrib- 
uting a  hundred  lines  "as  plainly  distinguishable  from 
the  rest  as  a  patch  of  gold  upon  cloth  of  frieze  " ;  from 
Ben  Jonson,  Fletcher  and  Dekker  he  borrowed  freely, 
and  his  adaptations  and  mutilations  of  Shakespeare  are 
all  well  known.  He  made  translations  from  the  Latin, 
Greek  and  French,  and,  most  commendable  of  all  his 
work,  he  made,  jointly  with  Dr.  Brady,  a  version  of 
the  Psalms  of  David.  The  work  he  did  as  editor, 
translator,  compiler  and  collaborator  is  longer  and 
more  to  his  credit  than  his  original  work. 

Tate  was  obtrusively  pious,  and  it  is  not  surprising 
to  find  him  appointed  by  the  Earl  of  Dorset  to  the 
laureateship  under  William  III,  in  1692,  instead  of  the 
worthier  but  lewder  Congreve,  whom  Dryden  cham- 
pioned. The  surprise  is  less,  too,  when  we  read  in 
his  preface  to  "  Brutus  of  Alba "  that  "  to  lay  his 
tragedy  at  the  feet  of  Dorset "  "  transports  him  more 
than  the  greatest  success  on  the  stage  could  have 
done,"  for  we  know  that  "  praise  is  devotion  fit  for 
mighty  minds." 

After  William's  death  Queen  Anne  reappointed  him 
and  placed  the  gift  thereafter  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord 
Chamberlain. 

"  These  are  to  certify  that  I  have  sworn  and  admitted 
Nahum  Tate  into  ye  place  and  quality  of  Poet-Lau- 
reate to  her  Majesty  in  ordinary,  to  have,  hold,  and 
exercise  and  enjoy  the  same  place  together  with  all 
right,  profits,  privileges,  and  advantages  thereunto  be- 

35 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

longing,  in  as  full  and  ample  manner  as  any  Poet- 
Laureate  hath  formerly  held  and  of  right  ought  to 
have  held  and  enjoyed  the  same. 

"Given  under  my  hand  this  24***  day  of  Dec'-. in  the 
first  year  of  her  Majesty's  reign. — "Jersey." 

Little  is  known  about  Tate's  private  life,  and  it  is 
an  interesting  fact  that  no  portrait  of  him  exists.  He 
was  often  in  financial  difficulties  and  finally  died  in  the 
Southwark  Mint,  run  down  by  his  creditors. 

33.  Poems.  I  By  N.  Tate.  |  London,  |  Print- 
ed by  T.  M.  for  Benj.  Tooke  at  the 
Signe  of  |  the  Ship  in  St.  Pauls,  Church- 
yard, I  MDCLXXVII. 

Octavo.     First  edition. 
Collation :  A2  —  K3. 

The  earliest  published  work  of  Tate.  The  volume 
contains  verses  on  a  wide  variety  of  subjects.  "  One 
composition,"  to  quote  Austin  and  Ralph,  "laments 
*the  present  corrupted  state  of  Poetry,'  and  is,  doubt- 
less, a  striking  example  of  the  decay  of  which  it 
complains." 

34.  Poems  I  Written  |  On  feveral  Occafions, 
I  By  I  N.  Tate.  |  The  Second  Edition 
enlarged.  |  London,  |  Printed  for  B. 
Tooke  at  the  Ship  in  |  St.  Paul's  Church- 
yard.    1684. 

Octavo. 

Collation :  A,  seven  leaves;  B — Qi,  in  eights. 

36 


NAHUM  TATE  ^ 

35.  On  The  |  Sacred  Memory  |  Of  Our 
Late  I  Sovereign :  |  With  A  |  Congratu- 
lation I  To  His  I  Prefent  Majesty.  |  — 
Non  defecit  Alter  |  Aureus —  |  Writ- 
ten by  N.  Tate.  |  London,  |  Printed  by 
J.  Playford,  for  Henry  Playford,  near  | 
the  Temple-Church :   1685. 

Folio.     First  edition. 
Collation :  A  —  B,  in  twos. 

36.  An  I  Elegy  |  On  The  |  Moft  Reverend 
Father  in  God,  |  His  Grace,  |  John,  | 
Late  I  Lord  Archbifhop  of  Canterbury. 
I  By  N.  Tate,  Servant  to  His  Majefty.  | 
London :  |  Printed  for  B.  Aylmer,  at  the 
Three  Pigeons  againft  the  Royal-  |  Ex- 
change in  Cornhill;  and  W.  Rogers  at 
the  Sun  againft  |  St.  Dunftan's  Church  in 
Fleet-ftreet.     MDCXCV. 

Folio.     First  edition. 

Collation :  A  —  D,  in  twos.    A  is  unsigned. 

37.  A  New  Verfion  |  Of  The  |  Psalms  |  Of  | 
David,  I  Fitted  to  the  Tunes  |  Ufed  in 
Churches.  |  By  |  N.  Tate  and  N.  Brady.  | 
London :  |  Printed  by  M.  Clark :  for  the 
Company  |  of  Stationers.     1696. 

'      8  37 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

Duodecimo.     First  edition. 

Collation :   Two  leaves  without  signatures ; 

A  —  O4,  in  twelves. 

An  English  metrical  version  of  thirty-seven  of  the 
Psalms  was  published  by  Thomas  Sternhold  in  1549. 
John  Hopkins,  William  Whittingham,  Dean  of  Dur- 
ham, and  others  translated  the  remaining  hundred  and 
thirteen  at  different  times.  The  first  complete  edition, 
called  "The  Old  Version,"  was  published  in  1562  and 
adopted  by  the  Reformed  Church  of  England  in 
1562-63.  There  was  some  opposition  to  the  "new 
and  modish"  version,  at  first,  although  it  had  been 
approved  and  revised  by  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury 
and  licensed  by  the  king. 

"Tate's  share  in  [this  volume]  cannot  be  appor- 
tioned ;  but  it  is  plausible  to  ascribe  to  him  the  ornate 
pieces  of  a  Drydenesque  character  (of  these  Ps. 
exxxvii,  *  Thou,  Lord,  by  strictest  search  hast  known,' 
is  the  best).  The  Christmas  hymn,  *  While  Shep- 
herds Watched,'  is  generally  attributed  to  him,  and 
a  few  of  similar  feeling  (e.  g.  Ps.  xlii,  *  As  pants  the 
hart '),  which  stand  out  above  the  doggerel  mass,  may 
be  his  also." — Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 


REIGN    OF    GEORGE    II 


NICHOLAS    ROWE   (1674— 1718). 

Tate  was  described  as  a  silent  man,  with  downcast 
look ;  but  Rowe  was  comely  in  person,  with  a  vivacity 
and  cheerfulness  of  disposition  which  won  him  many 

38 


NICHOLAS  ROWE 

friends.  He  was  successful  politically  as  well  as  so- 
cially, and  was  made  successively  Under-Secretary  to 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  Scotland,  Poet  Laureate  in 
1 715,  Surveyor  of  Customs,  Clerk  of  Council  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  Clerk  of  Presentations. 

He  was  an  industrious  scholar.  He  translated 
Boileau's  "  Lutrin,"  La  Bruy^re's  "  Characters,"  Quil- 
let's  "  Callipsediae,"  and  Lucan's  "  Pharsalia  ";  and  he 
edited,  in  the  modern  sense,  the  works  of  Shakespeare 
for  the  first  time. 

As  a  dramatist  Johnson  says  of  him :  "  He  seldom 
pierces  the  breast,  but  he  always  delights  the  ear,  and 
often  improves  the  understanding."  What  more  could 
be  expected  from  one  whom  "  Pope  charges  .  .  .  with 
the  want  of  that  valuable  article,  a  heart,  and  Addison 
admitted  its  existence  only  to  testify  to  the  lightness 
of  its  material "? 

His  tragedies  were,  for  the  most  part,  well  received. 
Players  of  his  own  day,  like  Thomas  Betterton,  Barton 
Booth,  John  Verbruggen,  Mrs.  Bracegirdle  and  Mrs. 
Oldfield,  acted  them  with  pleasure,  so  contributing  to 
their  success ;  while  some  of  them  long  held  the  stage, 
and  were  played  by  Kean,  Macready,  Kemble,  Mrs. 
Yates,  Garrick  and  Mrs.  Siddons. 

In  nothing  is  the  contrast  between  Tate  and  Rowe 
so  marked  as  in  their  work  as  laureates;  but  here 
again,  over  against  Rowe's  three  short  years  of  service, 
we  must  set  Tate's  weary  grind  of  nearly  five  and 
twenty. 

That  the  "Wicked  Wasp  of  Twickenham"  com- 
memorated our  poet  in  an  epitaph,  and  not  in  the 
"Dunciad,"  of  itself  points  a  tale. 

38.    Tamerlane.    |   A   |   Tragedy.  |    As    it   is 
Acted  I  At  the  New  Theater  |  In  |  Little 

39 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

Lincoln's-Inn-Fields.  |  By  His  Majesty's 
Servants  |  Written  by  N.  Rowe  Efq;  | 
—  Magnus  ad  altum  |  Fulminat  Euphra- 
ten  bello,  Victorque  volentes  |  Per  Popu- 
los  dat  jura,  viamq;  affectat  Olympo.  | 
Virg.  Georg.  4.  |  London,  |  Printed  for 
Jacob  Tonfon,  within  Gray's- Inn- Gate, 
next  I  Gray's-Inn-Lane.     1702. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 

Collation:  Three  leaves;    b,  two  leaves; 

B — K,  in  fours. 

"This  play  was  written  in  compliment  to  King 
William  III.  whose  character  the  author  intended  to 
display  under  that  of  Tamerlane  ...  In  pursuance 
of  Mr.  Rowe's  intended  comphment,  it  was  long  a  con- 
stant custom  at  all  the  theatres,  both  in  London  and 
Dublin,  to  represent  it  on  the  4***  of  November,  which 
was  that  Monarch's  birth-day. 

"This  was  the  tragedy  which  Rowe  valued  most, 
and  that  which  probably,  by  the  help  of  political 
auxiliaries,  excited  most  applause." — Baker,  Bio- 
graphia  Dramatica. 

39.  The  I  Fair  Penitent.  |  A  |  Tragedy.  | 
As  it  is  Acted  at  the  |  New  Theatre 
I  In  I  Little  Lincolns-Inn-Fields.  |  By 
Her  Majesty's  Servants.  |  Written  by  N. 
Rowe,  Efq ;  |  Quin  morere,  ut  merita  es, 
ferroque  averte  dolorem.  |  Virg.  ^n. 
40 


x> 


NICHOLAS  ROWE 

Lib.  4.  I  London,  |  Printed  for  Jacob 
Tonfon,  within  Grays- Inn  Gate  next  | 
Grays-Inn  Lane.     1703. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 

Collation :  A,  three  leaves ;  a,  four  leaves ; 

B  —  I,  in  fours. 

Baker  says  of  "The  Fair  Penitent " : 

"  This  play  is  so  well  known,  and  is  so  frequently 
performed,  and  always  with  the  greatest  applause,  that 
little  need  be  said  of  it,  more  than  to  hint  that  the 
groundwork  of  it  is  built  on  the  '  Fatal  Dowry '  of 
Massinger." 

But  Sir  Walter  Scott  thought  differently,  for  he  com- 
plained in  his  "  Essay  on  the  Drama  "  : 

"  It  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  decay  of  dra- 
matic art  at  this  period  that  several  of  the  principal  au- 
thors of  the  time  felt  themselves  at  liberty  to  write  imi- 
tations of  old  plays  belonging  to  the  original  school,  by 
way  of  adapting  them  to  the  taste  of  their  own  age." 

Richardson  owed  his  "  Lovelace  "  and  "  Clarissa  "  to 
the  villain  and  the  heroine  of  this  play,  and  our  common 
speech  to-day  is  indebted  to  it  for  a  "gallant,  gay 
Lothario." 

40.  Poems  I  On  |  Several  Occasions.  |  By 
N.  Rowe,  Efq  ;  |  London :  |  Printed  for 
E.  Curll  at  the  Dial  and  Bible  againft  | 
St.  Dunftan's  Church  in  Fleet-ftreet. 
1714. 

Quarto.     First  edition. 

Collation:  A — E  3,  in  fours. 

41 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

41.  The  I  Poetical  Works  |  Of  |  Nicholas 
Rowe,  Efq;  |  Late  Servant  to  his  Maj- 
efty.  I  The  Second  Edition.  |  London.  | 
Printed  for  J.  Tonson,  E.  Curll,  T.  Jaun- 
I  cy,  A.  Bell,  J.  Darby,  A.  Bettesworth,  | 
J.  Pemberton,  J.  Hooke,  C.  Rivington,  | 
R.  Cruttenden,  T.  Cox,  J.  Battely,  |  F. 
Clay  and  E.  Symon,  M.DCC.XX. 

Duodecimo. 

Collation:  Portrait;  two  leaves;  B  —  Eio, 

in  twelves. 

The  portrait  of  Rowe  was  engraved  by  Gerard  Van 
der  Gucht  (1696-1776). 


42.    The  I  Dramatick  Works  |  Of  |  Nicholas 
Rowe,  Efq ;  | 

Volume  the  First.  (  Containing, 
The  Ambitious  | 
Step- Mother.  | 
Tamerlane.  | 


The  Fair  Peni-  | 

tent.  I 

Ulysses.  | 


Nos  tamen  hoc  agimus,  tenuiq;  in  pul- 
vere  fulcos  |  Ducimus,  &  Littus  fterili 
verfamus  aratro.  |  Juv.  Sat.  VIL  |  Lon- 
don, I  Printed:  And  Sold  by  T.  Jauncy, 
at  the  Angel  |  without  Temple-Bar. 
MDCCXX. 

42 


NICHOLAS  ROWE 


43.    The  I  Dramatick  Works  |  Of  |  Nicholas 
Rowe,  Efq ;  |  Volume  the  Second.  | 
Containing,  | 
The  Royal  Con-  |  Jane  Gray.  | 

vert.  I  The  Biter.    | 

Jane  Shore.  | 
London,    |    Printed :     And  Sold   by  T. 
Jauncy,  at  the  Angel  |  without  Temple- 
Bar.     MDCCXX. 

Duodecimo.    Two  volumes. 

The  work  is  illustrated  with  eight  engravings  by 
Louis  du  Guernier  (1550 — 1620  ?),  and  the  first  volume 
has  the  portrait  of  Rowe  by  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller  (1646 
— 1723),  engraved  by  George  Vertue  (1684 — 1756). 

The  separate  plays  have  title-pages  with  varying 
dates,  while  appended  to  the  second  volume  are  : 

"The  Golden  Verses  of  Pythagoras,"  1 719;  "  A  Poem 
Upon  the  Late  Glorious  Succeffes  of  Her  Majelly's 
Arms,  &c.,"  1719;  and  "Ode  for  the  New  Year, 
MDCCXVI,"  1 719. 


REIGNS    OF   GEORGE    I    AND 
GEORGE    II 

LAURENCE  EUSDEN  (1688— 1730). 

When  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  married  Lady  Henri- 
etta Godolphin,  young  Eusden,  recently  graduated 
from  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  celebrated  the  happy 

43 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

event  in  a  poem.  For  this,  his  sixth  flight  into  the 
realm  of  the  Muses,  he  was  rewarded  by  the  duke,  as 
Lord  Chamberlain,  with  the  laureateship. 

During  his  term  of  office  Eusden  wrote  numerous 
laudatory  poems,  and  our  wonder  at  them  as  serious 
efforts  is  equaled  only  by  our  amazement  at  their 
serious  reception  by  those  to  whom  they  were  ad- 
dressed.    George  II  received  the  following  tribute : 

"  Hail,  mighty  Monarch !  whom  Desert  alone 
Would,  without  Birthright,  raise  up  to  the  throne ; 
Thy  virtues  shine  particularly  nice, 
Ungloom'd  with  a  confinity  to  vice." 

Perhaps  the  poet's  lines  addressed  to  the  same  mon- 
arch, if  applied  to  himself,  will  explain  his  bombast : 

"  Streams  which  in  silence  flowed  obscure  before, 
Swell'd  by  thy  conquests,  proudly  learn'd  to  roar." 

Little  is  known  of  Eusden's  life  except  that  he  took 
orders  and  took  to  drink.  What  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham said  of  him  when  he  was  appointed  laureate 
sums  up  his  case : 

"At    last    rush'd    in  Eusden,  and   cried,  who  shall 
have  it 
But  I,  the  true  Laureate,  to  whom  the  King  gave  it  ? 
Apollo  begg'd  pardon,  and  granted  his  claim, 
But  vowed,  that  till  then,  he  had  ne'er  heard  his 


Apollo's  ignorance  seems  to  be  general.  Eusden's 
name  does  not  appear  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica, 
and  it  is  seldom  seen  outside  of  the  list  of  the  poets 
laureate. 

44 


LAURENCE  EUSDEN 


44.  Three  |  Poems;  |  The  First,  |  Sacred  to 
the  Immortal  Memory  of  the  |  late  King ; 
I  The  Second,  |  On  the  happy  Succeflion, 
and  Coronation  |  of  His  prefent  Majesty  ; 
I  And  A  Third  |  Humbly  Infcrib'd  to  the 
Queen.  |  By  Laurence  Eusden,  Servant 
to  His  Majesty.  |  lUe  Deum  Vitam  ac- 
cipiet,  Divifque  videbit  |  Permixtos  He- 
roas,  &  Ipfe  videbitur  Illis !  Virg.  |  — 
Strepitus  faftidit  inanes,  |  Inque  Animis 
Hominum  Pompa  mehore  triumphat. 
Claud.  I  —  Utinam  modo  dicere  poffem  | 
Carmina  digna  Dea,  certe  Dea  Carmine 
digna  eft  !  Ovid.  |  The  Second  Edition.  | 
London :  |  Printed  for  J.  Roberts  in 
Warwick- Lane.      1727. 

Folio.     First  edition. 
Collation:  A — G  i,  in  twos. 

45.  A  I  Poem  I  Humbly  Inscribed  |  To  His 
Royal  Highnefs  Prince  Frederic,  |  On 
His  Safe  Arrival  in  Great  Britain,  |  And 
on  His  being  Created  Prince  of  Wales.  | 
By  L.  Eusden,  A.M.  |  Late  Fellow  of 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  and  now  | 
Poet-Laureat  to  His  Majesty.  |  Fallax 
O    quoties    Pulvis    deludet    Amorem   | 

9  45 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS   LAUREATE 

Sufpenfum,  veniens  omni  dum  crederis 
Hora !  Claudian.  |  Venifti  tandem, 
Tuaque  fpectata  Parenti  |  Vicit  Iter  durum 
Pietas  ?  datur  Ora  tueri  ?  Virgil.  |  Jam 
nihil,  O  Superi,  querimur!  Lucan.  | 
London,  |  Printed :  and  Sold  by  J. 
Roberts  in  Warwick- Lane.  |  MDCC- 
XXIX. 

Folio.     First  edition. 
Collation  :  A — C,  in  twos. 

46.  A  I  Letter  |  To  |  Mr.  Addison,  |  On  The 
I  King's  I  AccefTion  to  the  Throne.  |  By 
Mr.  Eusden  |  London :  |  Printed  for  J. 
Tonson,  at  Shakefpear's  Head,  over-  | 
againft  Catherine-ftreet  in  the  Strand. 
1714. 

Folio.     First  edition. 

Collation :  One  leaf;  B  —  D,  in  twos. 

47.  Poetical  |  Miscellanies,  |  Confifting  of  | 
Original  Poems  |  And  |  Translations.  | 
By  the  beft  Hands.  |  Publifh'd  by  Mr. 
Steele  |  London :  [  Printed  for  Jacob 
Tonson  at  Shake-  |  fpear's  Head  over- 
againfb  Catherine-ftreet  |  in  the  Strand. 
MDCCXIV. 

46 


LAURENCE   EUSt)E>J 

Octavo.     First  edition. 

Collation  :  Frontispiece ;  A — X7,  in  eights. 

This  volume  contains  numerous  poems  by  Eusden. 


REIGN    OF    GEORGE    II 
COLLEY   GIBBER   (1671  — 1757). 

"  Gibber,"  says  Warton,  "with  a  great  stock  of  lev- 
ity, vanity,  and  affectation,  had  sense,  and  wit,  and 
humour,"  and  if  we  add  to  these  qualities  the  fact  that 
he  was  eminent  as  an  actor,  dramatic  writer  and  theat- 
rical manager,  we  have  summed  up  his  qualifications 
for  the  position  of  poet  laureate.  The  appointment 
was  made  in  1730,  and  was  directly  due  to  the  accept- 
able Whig  views  expressed  in  "  The  Nonjuror,"  a 
comedy  founded  on  Moli^re's  "  Tartuffe,"  and  produced 
with  great  success  thirteen  years  before. 

"  But  guessing  who  should  have  the  luck 
To  be  the  Birth-day  fibber, 
I  thought  of  Dennis,  Tibbold,  Duck, 
But  never  dreamed  of  Gibber." 

The  elevation  procured  for  Gibber  his  even  more 
famous  distinction  of  the  chief  place  in  the  later  ver- 
sions of  the  "  Dunciad."  This  last  honor  will  without 
doubt  preserve  his  name,  if  not  his  bays,  longer  than 
the  first. 
"  Quoth  Gibber  to  Pope,  though  in  verse  you  foreclose, 

I  '11  have  the  last  word;  for  by  God  I  '11  write  prose. 

Poor  GoUey  !  Thy  reasoning  is  none  of  the  strongest, 

For  know,  the  last  word  is  the  word  that  lasts  longest." 

47 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS   LAUREATE 

Many  other  satires  beside  Pope's  were  directed 
against  Cibber,  and  the  fame  of  them  tends  to  warp 
fair  criticism  and  to  turn  our  sympathies  against  him 
and  cause  us  to  forget  his  undoubted  merits.  This  is 
unfair :  "  He  was  a  great  comedian,  and,  with  al- 
lowances for  his  personal  prejudices,  the  best  critic  of 
acting  the  stage  has  known."  "By  his  writings  he 
elevated  the  morality  of  the  stage,  and  by  his  policy  he 
improved  its  management." 

His  private  life  was  not  up  to  the  standard  of  his 
writings.  He  was  "fond  of  his  bottle,  fond  of  his 
jest,  fond  likewise  of  the  rattle  of  the  dice." 

48.  The  I  Non-Juror.  |  A  |  Comedy.  |  As  it 
is  Acted  at,  the  |  Theatre-Royal,  |  By  | 
His  Majesty's  Servants.  |  Written  by  Mr. 
Cibber.  | 

— Pulchra  Laverna  |  Da  mihi  fallere ;  da 
Juftum,  Sanctumq;  videri,  |  Noctem 
Peccatis,  &  Fraudibus  objice  Nubem.  | 
Hor.  I  London :  |  Printed  for  B.  Lintot, 
at  the  Crofs-Keys  in  |  Fleetftreet. 
MDCCXVIII. 

Octavo.     First  edition. 

Collation :  A,  seven  leaves ;  A,  four  leaves ; 

B — F,  in  eights,  one  leaf  unsigned. 

The  presentation  copy  to  George  I,  to  whom  it  is 
dedicated  in  English  and  in  French. 

49.  The  Dramatic  |  Works  |  Of  |  Colley  Cib- 
ber, Esq.  I  In  Five  Volumes.  |  [Volume 

43 


COLLEY  GIBBER 

the  First]  [contents  of  each  volume  given 
on  title-page^ 

London:  |  Printed  for  J.  Rivington  and 
Sons,  C.  Bathurst,  |  T.  Longman,  T. 
Lowndes,  T.  Caslon,  W.  Ni-  |  coll,  and 
S.  Bladon.  |  M.DCC.LXXVIL 

Duodecimo.     Second  collected  edition. 

Five  volumes.     Portrait. 

The  first  volume  contains  a  portrait  of  Gibber,  en- 
graved by  John  Miller  (otherwise  Johann  Sebastian 
Miiller)  (I7i5?-i790?),  after  the  painting  by  Jean  Bap- 
tiste  van  Loo  (1684-1745). 

50.  An  Apology  for  The  Life  Of  |  Mr.  Colley 
Gibber  |  Written  By  Himself  |  A  New 
Edition  With  Notes  And  Supplement  | 
By  I  Robert  W.  Lowe  |  With  Twenty- 
Six  Original  Mezzotint  Portraits  By  | 
R.  B.  Parkes,  And  Eighteen  Etchings  | 
By  Adolphe  Lalauze  |  In  Two  Volumes 
I  Volume  The  First  |  London  |  John  C. 
Nimmo  |  14,  King  William  Street, 
Strand  |  MDCCCLXXXIX. 

Quarto.     Two  volumes.     Portraits,  plates. 

The  first  edition  was  published  in  1740. 
"  Swift  was  so  much  pleased  with  Gibber's  Apology 
for  his  Life  that  he  sat  up  all  night  to  read  it ;  upon 
hearing  which.  Gibber,  it  is  said,  shed  tears  for  joy." 

—  Allibone. 
49 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS   LAUREATE 

REIGNS   OF   GEORGE   II   AND 
GEORGE  III 


WILLIAM     WHITEHEAD     (1715— 
1785). 

Little  was  expected  of  the  successor  of  Rowe  and 
Eusden : 

"  Next  Whitehead  came,  his  worth  a  pinch  of  snuff. 
But  for  a  Laureate, — he  was  good  enough." 

Whitehead  was  the  son  of  a  baker.  By  commend- 
able'diligence  he  worked  his  way  through  the  Univer- 
sity, and  became  tutor  to  the  son  of  the  Earl  of  Jersey. 
Both  father  and  son  remained  Whitehead's  warm  friends 
and  patrons,  and  it  was  due  to  Lady  Jersey's  influ- 
ence with  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  that  he  received  the 
laureateship  upon  the  death  of  Gibber. 

Gray  had  been  offered  the  vacant  place,  but  had  re- 
fused it,  and  Whitehead  would  have  done  wiser  to 
follow  Gray's  example ;  for,  to  quote  from  his  own  lines, 
he  knew  the  difficulties  of  the  position : 

"  Obliged  by  sack  and  pension. 
Without  a  subject  or  invention. 
Must  certain  words  in  order  set, 
As  innocent  as  a  gazette  — 
Must  some  meaning  half  disguise. 
And  utter  neither  truth  nor  lies." 

Whitehead  appears  to  have  been  a  good  man  and 
not  a  bad  poet  as  poets  laureate  go:  he  tried  to  reform 
the  stage,  for  which  he  wrote  numerous  dramas  to  be 
acted  with  success  by  Garrick,  and  if,  as  poet  laureate, 
he  was  subjected  to  severer  criticisms  than  the  poet 

50 


WILLIAM   WHITEHEAD 

tutor  would  have  been,  it  was  more  the  fault  of  his 
friends  than  his  own. 

For  Americans  he  has  an  especial  interest :  he  was 
the  poetaster  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 


51.  The  I  Danger  |  Of  j  Writing  Verse:  | 
An  I  Epistle.  |  By  Mr.  W.  Whitehead  of 
Clare-Hall  in  Cambridge.  |  Quae  poterant 
unquam  fatis  expurgare  cicutae,  |  Ni  me- 
lius dormire  putem,  quam  fcribere  verfus  ? 
I  Hon  Ep.  2.  Lib.  2.  |  [Printer's  mark] 
TuUy.  I  London :  |  Printed  for  R.  Dods- 
ley  at  Tully's  Head  in  Pali-Mall;  | 
And  Sold  by  T.  Cooper  at  the  Globe  in 
Pater- nofter- Row.  1741.  |  [Price  One 
Shilling.] 

Folio.     First  edition. 

Collation :  Two  leaves ;  B  —  D,  in  twos. 

52.  Ann  Boleyn  |  To  |  Henry  the  Eighth.  | 
An  I  Epistle.  |  By  Mr.  William  White- 
head, I  Fellow  of  Clare- Hall  in  Cam- 
bridge. I  Ne  quid  inexpertum,  fruftra 
moritura,  relinquat.  Virg.  |  [Printer's 
mark]  Tully.  |  London :  |  Printed  for  R. 
Dodsley  at  Tully's  Head  in  Pall- Mall ;  | 
And  Sold  by  M.  Cooper  at  the  Globe  in 

51 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS   LAUREATE 

Pater-nofter  Row.  1743.  |  [Price  One 
Shilling.] 

Folio.     First  edition. 

Collation  :  Two  leaves ;  B  —  D,  in  twos. 

53.  An  I  Essay  |  On  |  Ridicule.  |  By  Mr. 
William  Whitehead,  |  Fellow  of  Clare- 
Hall  in  Cambridge.  |  [Device]  Tully.  | 
London :  |  Printed  for  R.  Dodsley  at 
Tully 's  Head  in  Pall- Mall;  |  And  Sold 
by  M.  Cooper  in  Pater-nofter- Row. 
1743.  I  [Price  One  Shilling.] 

Folio.     First  edition. 

Collation :  Two  leaves ;  B  —  E,  in  twos. 

54.  On  I  Nobility:  |  An  |  Epistle  |  To  The  | 
Right    Hon'''"-    the    Earl   of   ******  | 

Sed  Te  cenferi  laude  Tuorum 

I     Noluerim Juv. '  |     By    Mr. 

William  Whitehead,  |  Fellow  of  Clare- 
Hall,  Cambridge.  |  [Printer's  mark] 
Tully.  I  London :  |  Printed  for  R.  Dods- 
ley, at  Tully's  Head  in  Pall-mall;  and 
I  fold  by  M.  Cooper,  at  the  Globe  in 
Pater-nofter-Row.  |  M.DCC.XLIV.  | 
(Price  One  Shilling.) 

Folio.    First  edition. 

Collation:  One  leaf;  B —  D,  in  twos. 

$2 


WILLIAM  WHITEHEAD 

55.  Atys  I  And  |  Adrastus,  |  A  |  Tale  |  In 
the  Manner  of  Dryden's  Fables.  |  By  Mr. 
William  Whitehead,  Fellow  of  |  Clare- 
Hall  in  Cambridge.  |  Infelix !  Nati  funus 
crudele  videbis.  |  Hi  noftri  reditus,  ex- 
pectatique  triumphi !  |  Haec  mea  magna 
fides !  —  Virg.  JEn.  viii.  |  The  Second 
Edition.  |  [Ornament]  London:  |  Print- 
ed for  R.  Manby,  on  Ludgate  Hill:  | 
And  Sold  by  M.  Cooper,  in  Pater-nofter 
Row.  MDCCXLIV.  |  [Price  One  Shil- 
ling.] 

Folio.     First  edition. 

Collation :  One  leaf;  B  —  D,  in  twos ;  E, 

three  leaves. 

56.  Plays  I  And  |  Poems,  |  By  |  William 
Whitehead,  Esq.  |  Poet  Laureat,  j  And 
Register  And  Secretary  To  The  Most  | 
Honorable  Order  Of  The  Bath.  |  In  Two 
Volumes.  |  [Vol.  I.]  London,  |  Printed 
for  J.  Dodsley,  in  Pall-Mall,  |  MDCC- 
LXXIV. 

Octavo.     First  collected  edition. 
Two  volumes.     Portrait. 

The  first  volume  has  an  oval  portrait  of  the  author 
engraved  by  J.  Collyer  (1748-1827),  after  the  painting 
by  W.  Doughty  (d.  1782). 

10  S3 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

57.  Poems  I  By  William  Whitehead,  Esq.  | 
Late  Poet  Laureat,  |  And  Register  And 
Secretary  To  The  Most  |  Honorable 
Order  Of  The  Bath.  |  Vol.  III.  |  To 
Which  Are  Prefixed,  |  Memoirs  |  Of 
His  I  Life  and  Writings.  |  By  W.  Mason, 
M.  A.  I  York:  |  Printed  By  A.  Ward, 
And  Sold  By  J.  Robson  And  |  W.  Clarke, 
New  Bond-Street,  London,  |  And  J. 
Todd,  York.  I  MDCCLXXXVni. 

Octavo.     First  edition. 

Collation  :    Two  leaves ;    a  —  p,  in  fours ; 

q,  five  leaves;  A — Y2,  in  fours. 

This  volume  is  made  up  of  "  writings,  either  uncol- 
lected or  unpublished"  by  the  author  and  edited  by 
William  Mason  (1724-1797). 


REIGN    OF   GEORGE    III 
THOMAS   WARTON    (1728— 1790). 

Warton  graduated  from  Trinity  College,  Oxford, 
and  there  he  remained  during  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  as  a  professor,  first  in  the  chair  of  Poetry,  and  later 
of  Ancient  History.  There  is  a  different  stamp  upon 
his  work  from  that  of  his  predecessors :  he  was  of  the 
university,  they  of  the  court,  the  theater,  or  from  among 
the  followers  of  the  great. 

His  prose  writings  exceed  in  number  and  importance 
his  poetical  works,  and  it  is  as  a  man  of  letters  that  his 

54 


THOMAS  WARTON 

"  name  is  a  landmark  in  the  history  of  English  litera- 
ture." Christopher  North  went  so  far  as  to  say,  "  the 
gods  had  made  him  poetical,  but  not  a  poet";  but 
even  so,  in  his  "poetical  "  works  he  "left  his  impress 
on  the  course  of  English  literature." 

His  greatest  work  was  his  "History  of  English 
Poetry. "  He  edited  the  works  of  Theocritus,  Milton's 
"Poems  upon  Several  Occasions,"  and  "Anthologise 
Graecae"  of  Kephalas. 

He  was  appointed  laureate  in  1785,  and  his  first 
official  ode  called  forth  the  famous  squib, "  Probationary 
Odes  for  the  Laureateship,"  in  which  he  is  described  as 
"  a  little,  thick,  squat,  red-faced  man  " ;  and  his  own 
"  birthday  "  ode  was  given  "  as  signally  characteristic 
of  the  ludicrous  tameness  incident  to  the  compositions 
of  laureated  poetasters."  This  "most  exquisite  of  lit- 
erary jokes"  "purported  to  be  the  competitive  essays 
of  Warton's  rivals."  They  "are  very  comical,  and 
abound  in  humorous  allusions,  which  were  greatly 
appreciated  at  the  time,  although  now  a  key  is  required 
to  their  meaning." 

It  is  pleasant  to  record  that  Warton  received  this 
joke  with  a  good  nature  habitual  to  one  of  the  most 
amiable  of  men. 


58.  Observations  |  On  The  |  Faerie  Queene 
I  Of  I  Spenser.  |  By  Thomas  Warton, 
A.M.  I  Fellowof Trinity-College, Oxford. 
I  London :  |  Printed  for  R.  and  J.  Dods- 
ley;  |  And  J.  Fletcher,  in  the  Turl, 
Oxford.  I  1754. 

Quarto.     Pp.  [iv],  322.     First  edition. 

55 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE   POETS  LAUREATE 

59.  The  I  History  Of  English  Poetry,  | 
From  The  |  Close  Of  The  Eleventh  |  To 
The  I  Commencement  Of  The  Eight- 
eenth Century.  |  To  Which  Are  Pre- 
fixed, I  Three  Dissertations :  |  i .  Of  The 
Origin  Of  Romantic  Fiction  In  Europe.  | 
2.  On  The  Introduction  Of  Learning 
Into  England.  |  3.  On  The  Gesta  Ro- 
manorum.  |  By  |  Thomas  Warton,  B.  D. 
I  Fellow  Of  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  And 
Of  The  Society  Of  Antiquaries,  And  Late 
I  Professor  Of  Poetry  In  The  University 
Of  Oxford.  I  A  New  Edition  |  Carefully 
Revised,  |  With  Numerous  Additional 
Notes  By  The  Late  Mr.  Ritson,  |  The 
Late  Dr.  Ashby,  Mr.  Douce,  |  Mr.  Park, 
And  Other  Eminent  Antiquaries,  |  And 
I  By  The  Editor.  |  In  Four  Volumes.  | 
[Vol.  I.]  London:  |  Printed  for  Thomas 
Tegg,  73,  Cheapside.  |  1824. 
Octavo.     Four  volumes.     Portrait. 

The  work  originally  appeared  as  follows :  the  first 
volume  was  published  in  1774;  the  second  in  1778; 
"and  the  third  in  1781,  preceded  by  an  additional 
dissertation  on  the  '  Gesta  Romanorum.'  "  A  fourth 
promised  volume  never  appeared. 

This  edition  was  edited  by  Richard  Price  (1790- 
1833),  who  "  retained  many  of  Warton's  self-evident 
mistakes,  and  made  some  new  ones." 

56 


HENRY   JAMES    PYE 

HENRY  JAMES    PYE  (1745— 1813). 

Pye  was  the  next  laureate,  and  nobody  ever  knew  just 
why,  but  all  agree  that  "  no  selection  could  have  more 
effectually  deprived  the  post  of  reputable  literary  merit." 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  set  aside  all  attempts  at  a 
serious  criticism  of  "  Henry  James  Pye,"  as  Southey 
always  called  him,  and  merely  quote  some  of  the  many 
epithets  and  jingles  which  commemorate  him. 

The  "  poetical  Pye,"  said  Scott  politely,  while  Byron 
scornfully  referred  to  him  "as  eminently  respectable 
in  everything  but  his  poetry,"  and  Byron  was  certainly 
a  judge  of  both  morals  and  poetry :  he  believed  it 
"Better  to  err  with  Pope,  than  shine  with  Pye." 
George  Steevens  plagiarized  to  express  his  thoughts  of 
our  poetaster : 

"  And  when  the  pie  was  opened 

The  birds  began  to  sing ; 
And  was  n't  that  a  dainty  dish 

To  set  before  a  king?  " 

while  Porson  thought  to  gain  more  dignity  with  Latin : 

**  Poetis  nos  Isetamur  tribus, 
Pye,  Petro  Pindar,  Parvo  Pybus. 
Si  ulterius  ire  pergis, 
Adde  his  Sir  James  Bland  Burges." 

All  this  apropos  of  "  a  good  Englishman,  a  gentle- 
man in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word,  a  man  of  an- 
cient family,  of  patriotic  principles,  of  genial  courtesy, 
and  pleasant  convivial  habits," — too  bad  the  Canary  was 
commuted  in  his  day! — "  an  industrious  student,  a  well- 
informed,  cultivated,  graceful  writer,"  poet  laureate  to 
his  Majesty  King  George  —  but  no  poet. 

57 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE   POETS   LAUREATE 

60.  Six  I  Olympic  Odes  |  Of  Pindar:  |  Being 
thofe  omitted  by  |  Mr.  West.  |  Translated 
into  I  English  Verse.  |  With  Notes.  | 
London :  |  Printed  for  Benjamin  White, 
I  at  Horace's-Head,  Fleet-Street.  |  MD- 
CCLXXV. 

Duodecimo.     Pp.  vii,  73.     First  edition. 

61.  Adelaide:  |  A  |  Tragedy,  |  In  Five 
Acts,  I  As  Performing  |  With  Univ.ersal 
Applause,  |  At  |  The  Theatre- Royal, 
Drury-Lane.  |  By  |  Henry  James  Pye,  | 
Poet  Laureat.  |  Celebrare  Domestica 
Facta. —  Hon  |  London :  |  Printed  for 
John  Stockdale,  Piccadilly.  |  1800.  | 
Price  2s.  6d.  |  Entered  at  Stationers' 
Hall. 

Octavo.     Pp.  78.     First  edition. 

"There  is  some  fine  writing  in  this  piece,  which  will 
please  in  the  closet;  but  it  had  no  interest  on  the 
stage.  The  story  is  drawn  from  the  latter  part  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  II.  whose  last  days  were  so  much  em- 
bittered by  the  disobedient  and  unnatural  conduct  of 
his  sons." — Baker,  Biographia  Dramatica. 


S8 


ROBERT  SOUTHEY 

REIGNS    OF   GEORGE    III,    GEORGE    IV, 
WILLIAM    IV,    AND   VICTORIA 


ROBERT  SOUTHEY  (1774  — 1843). 

Southey's  own  letters  give  the  most  interesting  ac- 
count we  have  of  the  circumstances  connected  with  his 
appointment  to  the  laureateship.  In  a  letter  to  C.  W. 
W.  Wynn,  Esq.,  bearing  date  of  Sept.  20,  i8i3,he  says  : 

"  Pye's  death  was  announced  a  day  or  two  before  my 
departure  from  Keswick,  and  at  the  time  I  thought 
it  so  probable  that  the  not-very-desirable  succession 
might  be  offered  me,  as  to  bestow  a  little  serious 
thought  upon  the  subject,  as  well  as  a  jest  or  two." 

The  office  was  tendered  to  him  at  the  wish  of  the 
Prince  Regent,  and  he  was  given  to  understand  that 
the  "onus  "  of  it  would  be  dropped,  but  owing  to  a 
misunderstanding  the  place  had  also  been  offered  to 
Scott  by  Lord  Liverpool  and  the  Marquis  of  Hertford. 
Scott  generously  declined  the  appointment,  not  from 
any  foolish  prejudice,  as  he  wrote  Southey,  but  because 
he  was  already  provided  for,  and  would  not  engross 
emoluments  which  ought  to  be  awarded  to  a  man  of 
letters  who  had  no  other  views  in  life.  ' 

In  a  long  letter  to  Scott,  written  after  his  induction 
into  office,  Southey  says :  "  I  swore  to  be  a  faithful 
servant  to  the  king,  to  reveal  all  treasons  which  might 
come  to  my  knowledge,  to  discharge  the  duties  of  my 
office,  and  to  obey  the  lord  chamberlain  in  all  matters 
of  the  king's  service,  and  in  his  stead  the  vice-cham- 
berlain. Having  taken  this  upon  my  soul,  I  was 
thereby  inducted  into  all  the  rights,  privileges,  and 
benefits  which  Henry  James  Pye,  Esq.,  did  enjoy,  or 
ought  to  have  enjoyed." 

59 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS   LAUREATE 

"The  original  salary  of  the  office  was  lOO  marks. 
It  was  raised  for  Ben  Jonson  to  ;^ioo  and  a  tierce  of 
Spanish  Canary  wine,  now  wickedly  commuted  for 
;^26;  which  said  sum,  unlike  the  Canary,  is  subject  to 
income-tax,  land-tax,  and  Heaven  knows  what  taxes 
besides.  The  whole  net  income  is  httle  more  or  less 
than  ;^90.  It  comes  to  me  as  a  God-send,  and  I  have 
invested  it  in  a  life-policy." 

A  few  of  his  lines  will  announce  the  actual  installation : 

"  I  have  something  to  tell  you,  which  you  will  not  be 
sorry  at, 
'T  is  that  I  am  sworn  in  to  the  office  of  laureate. 
The  oath  that  I  took  there  could  be  nothing  wrong  in, 
'T  was  to  do  all  the  duties  to  the  dignity  belonging. 
Keep  this,  I  pray  you,  as  a  precious  gem, 
For  this  is  the  laureate's  first  poem." 

"  There,  my  dear  Edith,  are  some  choice  verses  for 
you.  I  composed  them  in  St.  James'  Park  yesterday, 
on  my  way  from  the  chamberlain's  office,  where  a  good 
old  gentleman  usher,  a  worthy  sort  of  fat  old  man,  in 
a  wig  and  bag,  and  a  snuff-colored  full-dress  suit  with 
cut  steel  buttons  and  a  sword,  administered  an  oath." 

The  "onus"  of  the  office,  the  New  Year's  Ode 
(Shadwell's  Birth  Day  Ode  had  already  been  abol- 
ished), was  not  done  away  with  until  some  time  after, 
much  to  Southey's  disgust. 

"  Is  it  true  that  the  Princess  Charlotte  is  likely  to  be 
married  ?  You  will  guess  why  I  wish  to  know;  though 
if  I  had  not  written  half  a  marriage  poem,  I  certainly 
would  not  begin  one,  for,  between  ourselves,  I  have  not 
been  well  used  about  the  laureateship.  They  require 
task  verses  from  me  —  not  to  keep  up  the  custom  of 
having  them  befiddled,  but  to  keep  up  the  task  —  in- 
stead of  putting  an  end  to  this  foolery  in  a  fair  and 

60 


ROBERT  SOUTHEY 

open  manner,  which  would  do  the  court  credit,  and 
save  me  a  silly  expense  of  time  and  trouble." 
Letter  to  Grosvenor  C.  Bedford,  Esq., 

Feb.  4,  1816. 

62.  Omne  Solum  Forti  Patria.  |  Madoc.  | 
Book  I.  I 

[Device  cut  out  and  pasted  on] 

Duodecimo.     LI.  277,  38. 

The  original  manuscript  of  "Madoc,"  written  in  1799 
and  published  in  1805. 

63.  Miscellanea  Poetica. 

Octavo.     LI.  137. 

A   collection   of  poems  in   Southey's  handwriting, 
many  of  which  were  afterwards  printed. 

64.  The  Lay  of  the  Laureate.  |  Carmen  Nup- 
tiale,  I  By  |  Robert  Southey,  Esq.  |  Poet 
Laureate,  |  Member  Of  The  Royal  Span- 
ish Academy,  And  Of  The  |  Royal  Span- 
ish Academy  Of  History.  |  London:  | 
Printed  for  Longman,  Hurst,  Rees,  Orme, 
And  I  Brown,  Paternoster  Row.  |  181 6. 

Duodecimo.     Pp.  [3],  77.     First  edition. 

65.  The  Poet's  Pilgrimage  |  to  |  Waterloo:  | 
By  I  Robert  Southey,  Esq.  |  Poet   Lau- 

II  61 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE   POETS   LAUREATE 

reate,  |  Member  Of  The  Royal  Spanish 
Academy,  And  Of  The  |  Royal  Spanish 
Academy  Of  History.  |  [Quotation,  three 
lines.]  Pindar.  Pyth.  2.  |  London:  |. 
Printed  For  Longman,  Hurst,  Rees, 
Orme,  And  |  Brown,  Paternoster  Row.  | 
1816. 

Sextodecimo.     Pp.  [iv],  232.     Eight  plates. 
First  edition. 

The  plates  are  steel-engravings  by  George  Cooke 
( 1 781-1834),  from  sketches  by  E.  Nash  and  C.  Bell. 

66.  All  For  Love;  |  And  |  The  Pilgrim  To 
Compostella.  |  By  |  Robert  Southey, 
Esq.  L.L.D.  |  Poet  Laureate,  &c.  |  Lon- 
don :  I  John  Murray,  Albemarle  Street. 
I  MDCCCXXIX. 

Octavo.     Pp.  [v],  221.     Plate. 
First  edition. 

The  volume  has  for  a  frontispiece  a  proof  engraving 
by  Edward  Francis  Finden  (i  792-1857),  of  a  picture 
by  R.  Westall  (i  765-1836).  A  note  in  pencil  by 
William  Beckford  reads :  "  All  for  pelf  rather  than 
All  for  Love  in  this  breathing  world.  Nothing  but 
the  desire  of  adding  to  his  stock  of  pence,  and 
laudable  view  of  presenting  his  little  friends, — sweet 
listening  dears, —  with  comfits  &  sugar  plums,  could 
have  induced  the  Laureate  to  put  forth  such  a  doodle- 
some  publication. — W.  B." 

62 


ROBERT  SOUTHEY 

6*].  The  Doctor,  |  &c.  |  [Device]  Third  Edi- 
tion. I  Vol.  I.  I  London:  |  Longman, 
Rees,  Orme,  Brown,  Green  And  |  Long- 
mans. I  1839. 

Post  octavo.     Seven  volumes.     Plate. 

This  "  glorified  commonplace-book  "  "  originally  ap- 
peared as  follows ;  vol.  i.  and  ii.  1834,  vol.  iii.  1836, 
vol.  iv.  1837,  and  vol.  v.  1838.  .  .  .  Vol.  vi.  appeared 
in  1847,  edited  by  Southey's  son-in-law,  the  Rev.  John 
Wood  Warter.  .  .  .  The  7th,  being  the  concluding 
volume,  appeared  also  in  1847.  .  .  .  " — Lowndes. 

68.  The  Doctor,  |  &c.  |  [Device]  Vol.  VII.  | 
London :  |  Longman,  Brown,  Green,  And 
Longmans.  |  1847. 

Volume  seven  has  a  colored  frontispiece  by  John 
Glover  (1767-1849),  called  "The  Statues." 


REIGN    OF   VICTORIA 

WILLIAM  WORDSWORTH  (1770— 
1850). 

Writing  to  Lady  F.  Bentinck  in  1843,  Wordsworth 
says: 

"  The  Lord  Chamberlain  [Earl  De  La  Warr],  in  terms 
the  most  honourable,  has,  with  the  Queen's  appro- 
bation, offered  me  the  vacant  Laureateship.  Had  I 
been  several  years  younger  I  should  have  accepted  the 

63 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE   POETS   LAUREATE 

office  with  pride  and  pleasure;  but  on  Friday  I  shall 
enter,  God  willing,  my  74th  year,  and  on  account  of 
so  advanced  an  age  I  begged  permission  to  decline 
it,  not  venturing  to  undertake  its  duties.  For  though, 
as  you  are  aware,  the  formal  task-work  of  New  Year 
and  Birthday  Odes  was  abolished  when  the  appoint- 
ment was  given  to  Mr.  Southey,  he  still  considered 
himself  obliged  in  conscience  to  produce,  and  did 
produce,  verses,  some  of  very  great  merit,  upon  im- 
portant public  occasions.  He  failed  to  do  so  upoi) 
the  Queen's  Coronation,  and  I  know  that  this  omis- 
sion caused  him  no  little  uneasiness.  The  same  might 
happen  to  myself  upon  some  important  occasion,  and 
I  should  be  uneasy  under  the  possibility." 

The  Prime  Minister,  Robert  Peel,  added  his  en- 
treaty to  the  Lord  Chamberlain's,  promising  that 
nothing  should  be  "  required  "  of  the  aged  poet,  and, 
all  scruples  being  removed,  Wordsworth  finally  ac- 
cepted the  position.  He  wrote  but  one  ode  in  his  official 
capacity,  and  that  was  probably  only  nominally  by 
him. 

69.  Lyrical  Ballads,  |  With  |  A  Few  Other 
Poems.  I  London:  |  Printed  for  J.  &  A. 
Arch,  Gracechurch- Street.  |  1798. 

Octavo.     Pp.  [i],  V,  [i],  210,  [i]. 
First  edition. 

70.  Lyrical  Ballads,  |  With  |  Other  Poems.  | 
In  Two  Volumes.  |  By  W.  Wordsworth. 
I  Quam  nihil  ad  genium,  Papiniane,  tuum! 
I  Vol.  II.  I  London :  |  Printed  For  T.  N. 

64 


WILLIAM  WORDSWORTH 

Longman    And    O.    Rees,    Paternoster- 
Row,  I  By  Biggs  And  Co.  Bristol.  |  1800. 

Octavo.     Pp.  [iv],  227.     First  edition. 

71.  The  Excursion,  |  Being  A  Portion  Of  | 
The  Recluse,  |  A  Poem.  |  By  |  William 
Wordsworth.  |  London :  |  Printed  for 
Longman,  Hurst,  Rees,  Orme,  And 
Brown,  |  Paternoster-Row.  |  18 14. 

Quarto.     Pp.  xx,  447 .     First  edition. 

72.  The  I  White  Doe  |  Of  |  Rylstone;  | 
Or  I  The  Fate  Of  The  Nortons.  |  A 
Poem.  I  By  |  WilHam  Wordsworth.  | 
London :  |  Printed  For  |  Longman, 
Hurst,  Rees,  Orme,  And  Brown,  |  Pater- 
noster-Row, I  By  James  Ballantyne  And 
Co.,  Edinburgh.  |  1815. 

Quarto.     Pp.  xi,  162.     Plate. 
First  edition. 

73.  The  I  Miscellaneous  |  Poems  |  Of  |  Wil- 
liam Wordsworth.  |  In  Four  Volumes.  | 
[Vol.  L]  London  :  |  Printed  For  Long- 
man, Hurst,  Rees,  Orme,  And  Brown,  | 
Paternoster- Row.  |  1820. 

65 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS   LAUREATE 

Duodecimo.    Four  volumes.     Four  plates. 
First  collected  edition. 

The  frontispieces  to  the  first  three  volumes  are  en- 
gravings by  John  Charles  Bromley  (1795- 1838),  after 
the  pictures  by  Sir  George  Beaumont  (1753-1827). 
The  frontispiece  of  volume  four  was  engraved  by 
Samuel  William  Reynolds  (1773-1835)  after  a  picture 
by  Beaumont. 


74.  Memorials  |  Of  A  |  Tour  On  The 
Continent,  |  1820.  |  By  William  Words- 
worth. I  London  :  |  Printed  For  |  Long- 
man, Hurst,  Rees,  Orme,  And  Brown,  | 
Paternoster- Row.  |  1822. 

Octavo.     Pp.  viii,  103.     First  edition. 


75.  Yarrow  Revisited,  |  And  |  Other  Poems. 
I  By  I  William  Wordsworth.  |  — "  Poets 
.  .  .  dwell  on  earth  |  To  clothe  whatever 
the  soul  admires  and  loves  |  With  lan- 
guage and  with  numbers."  |  Akenside. 
I  London :  |  Printed  for  |  Longman,  Rees, 
Orme,  Brown,  Green,  &  Longman,  (  Pat- 
ernoster-Row; And  I  Edward  Moxon, 
Dover  Street.  |  1835. 

Duodecimo.     Pp.  xv,  349.     First  edition. 
66 


WILLIAM    WORDSWORTH 

^6.  The  I  Sonnets  |  Of  ]  William  Words- 
worth. I  Collected  In  One  Volume,  | 
With  I  A  Few  Additional  Ones,  Now 
First  Published.  |  London  |  Edward 
Moxon,  Dover  Street.  |  MDCCCXXX- 
VIII. 

Octavo.     Pp.  xi,  477.     Portrait. 
First  edition. 

"  No  one  since  Milton  has  so  adorned  our  language 
in  this  species  of  composition." — Lond.  Lit.  Gaz,, 
1838. 

The  autograph  portrait,  from  the  miniature  painted 
by  Margaret  Gillies  (1803-1887),  was  engraved  by  J. 
C.  Armytage. 

The  book  was  bound  by  T.  J.  Cobden-Sanderson, 
in  1894,  after  his  own  design. 


ALFRED   TENNYSON,   FIRST 
BARON   TENNYSON    (1809— 1892). 

"  On  November  19*^  my  father  was  appointed  Poet 
Laureate,  owing  chiefly  to  Prince  Albert's  admiration 
for  *  In  Memoriam.'  Wordsworth  had  been  now  dead 
some  months ;  and  my  father,  as  he  has  assured  me, 
had  not  any  expectation  of  the  Laureateship,  or  any 
thought  upon  the  subject:  it  seemed  to  him  therefore 
a  very  curious  coincidence,  that  the  night  before  the 
offer  reached  him  he  dreamt  that  Prince  Albert  came 
and  kissed  him  on  the  cheek,  and  that  he  said  in  his 
dream,  *  Very  kind,  but  very  German.' 

"  In  the  morning  this  letter  about  the  Laureateship 
was  brought  to  his  bedroom  "  : 

67 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS   LAUREATE 

"Windsor  Castle,  Nov.  5*^  1850. 

"  By  the  death  of  the  late  lamented  Wm.  Wordsworth 
the  Office  of  Poet  Laureate  to  the  Queen  became  at 
Her  Majesty's  disposal. 

"  The  ancient  duties  of  this  Office,  which  consisted  in 
laudatory  Odes  to  the  Sovereign,  have  been  long,  as 
you  are  probably  aware,  in  abeyance,  and  have  never 
been  called  for  during  the  Reign  of  Her  present  Maj- 
esty. The  Queen,  however,  has  been  anxious  that  the 
Office  should  be  maintained;  first,  on  account  of  its 
antiquity,  and  secondly,  because  it  establishes  a  con- 
nection, through  Her  Household,  between  Her  Majesty 
and  the  poets  of  this  country  as  a  body. 

"To  make  however  the  continuance  of  this  Office  in 
harmony  with  public  opinion,  the  Queen  feels  that  it  is 
necessary  that  it  should  be  limited  to  a  name  bearing 
such  distinction  in  the  literary  world  as  to  do  credit  to 
the  appointment,  and  it  was  under  this  feeling,  that 
Her  Majesty  in  the  first  instance  offered  the  appoint- 
ment to  Mr.  Rogers,  who  stated  to  Her  Majesty,  in 
his  reply,  that  the  only  reason  which  compelled  him 
gratefully  to  decline  Her  Majesty's  gracious  intention, 
was,  that  his  great  age  rendered  him  unfit  to  receive 
any  new  office. 

"  It  is  under  the  same  desire  that  the  name  of  the  poet 
appointed  should  adorn  the  Office,  that  I  have  received 
the  commands  of  the  Queen  to  offer  this  post  to  you, 
as  a  mark  of  Her  Majesty's  appreciation  of  your  liter- 
ary distinction. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be.  Sir, 

"  your  obedient  humble  servant, 

«C.  B.  Phipps." 

"  He  took  the  whole  day  to  consider,  and  at  the  last 
wrote  two  letters,  one  accepting,  one  refusing,  and  de- 
termined to  make  up  his  mind  after  a  consultation  with 

68 


ALFRED  TENNYSON 

his  friends  at  dinner.  He  would  joke  and  say,  *  In  the 
end  I  accepted  the  honour,  because  during  dinner  Ven- 
ables  told  me,  that,  if  I  became  Laureate,  I  should  always 
when  I  dined  out  be  offered  the  liver-wing  of  a  fowl.' " 
Lord  Tennyson's  reflections  upon  Wordsworth 
might  aptly  be  apphed  to  himself.  Hallam  Tennyson 
says  again :  "  He  was  meditating  his  first  Laureate 
poem,  *To  the  Queen,'  and  was  especially  thinking 
of  a  stanza  in  which  '  the  empire  of  Wordsworth  should 
be  asserted :  for  he  was  a  representative  Poet  Laureate, 
such  a  poet  as  kings  should  honour  and  such  an  one  as 
would  do  honour  to  kings;  —  making  the  period  of  a 
reign  famous  by  the  utterances  of  memorable  words 
concerning  that  period.' " 


T'j,  Poems,  |  Chiefly  Lyrical,  |  By  Alfred 
Tennyson.  |  London :  |  Effingham  Wil- 
son, Royal  Exchange,  |  Cornhill.  |  1830. 

Foolscap  octavo.     Pp.  [iii],  154. 
First  edition. 

"It  had  originally  been  intended  to  publish  these 
poems  conjointly  with  those  of  Arthur  Hallam ;  but 
by  the  advice  of  Hallam's  father  the  contributions  of 
the  latter  were  withdrawn.  .  .  . 

"  Many  of  the  poems  in  this  volume  were  rejected 
and  omitted  from  subsequent  editions  of  Tennyson's 
Minor  Poems." — The  Bibliography  of  Tennyson. 

JZ.    The  Princess ;  |  A  Medley.  |  By  |  Alfred 
Tennyson.  |  London :  |  Edward  Moxon, 
Dover  Street.  |  MDCCCXLVIL 
12  69 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

Foolscap  octavo.     Pp.  [i],  164. 
First  edition. 

79.  In  Memoriam.  |  London:  |  Edward 
Moxon,  Dover  Street.  |  1850. 

Foolscap  octavo.     Pp.  vii,  210. 
First  edition. 

"  The  poem,  written  in  a  four-lined  stanza — believed 
by  the  poet  to  have  been  invented  by  himself,  but 
which  had  been  in  fact  long  before  used  by  Sir  Philip 
Sidney,  Ben  Jonson,  and  notably  by  Lord  Herbert  of 
Cherbury  —  had  grown  to  its  final  shape  during  a  period 
of  seventeen  years  following  the  death  of  Arthur  Hal- 
lam.  Issued  with  no  name  upon  the  title-page,  its 
authorship  was  never  from  the  first  moment  in  doubt." 

—  Canon  Ainger. 

80.  Ode  I  On  The  Death  |  Of  The  |  DuJ^e 
Of  Wellington.  |  By  Alfred  Tennyson,  | 
Poet  Laureate.  |  London :  |  Edward 
Moxon,  Dover  Street.  |  1852. 

Octavo.     Pp.  16. 
First  edition. 

81.  Maud,  I  And  Other  Poems.  |  By  |  Al- 
fred Tennyson,  D.C.L.,  I  Poet  Laureate.  | 
London  :  |  Edward  Moxon,  Dover  Street. 

I  i8S5- 

Foolscap  octavo.     Pp.  [v],  154. 
First  edition. 

70 


ALFRED  TENNYSON 

82.  Idylls  Of  The  King.  |  By  |  Alfred  Ten- 
nyson, D.C.L.,  I  Poet  Laureate.  |  "  Flos 
regum  Arthurus."  |  Joseph  of  Exeter. 
I  London :  |  Edward  Moxon  &  Co., 
Dover  Street.  |  1859. 

Foolscap  octavo.     Pp.  [v],  261. 
First  edition. 

83.  A  Welcome.  |  By  |  Alfred  Tennyson, 
D.C.L.,  I  Poet  Laureate.  |  London:  | 
Edward  Moxon  &  Co.,  Dover  Street.  | 
1863. 

Foolscap  octavo.     Pp.  4. 
First  edition. 

"These  lines  were  addressed  to  the  Princess  Alex- 
andra of  Denmark,  on  her  arrival  in  England  and  her 
marriage  with  the  Prince  of  Wales.  .  .  .  This  separate 
edition  is  now  a  great  rarity,  though  it  could  be  bought 
at  the  time  of  its  publication  for  a  few  pence." 

—  The  Bibliography  of  Tennyson. 

84.  Becket  |  By  |  Alfred  |  Lord  Tennyson  | 
Poet  Laureate  |  London  |  Macmillan  and 
Co.  I  1884 

Foolscap  octavo.     Pp.  [v],  213. 
First  edition. 

Produced  at  the  Lyceum  Theatre  by  Henry  Irving 
in  1893. 

71 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

85.  The  I  Death  Of  CEnone,  |  Akbar's 
Dream,  |  And  Other  Poems  |  By  |  Alfred 
I  Lord  Tennyson  |  Poet  Laureate  |  With 
Five  Steel  Portraits  Of  The  Author  | 
London  |  Macmillan  and  Co.  |  And  New 
York  I  1892  I  All  rights  reserved 
Octavo.  Pp.  vi,  III.  Five  portraits. 
First  edition. 

"  Published  the  latter  part  of  October,  1892.  ITie 
proof  was  all  revised  by  the  Poet  a  fortnight  before 
his  death." — The  Bibliography  of  Tennyson. 

The  Poems  By  Two  Brothers  and  this  volume  are 
the  only  works  of  Tennyson  published  originally  in 
Large-Paper  copies. 

ALFRED   AUSTIN    (1835—). 

Lord  Rosebery  having  refused  to  appoint  a  successor 
to  Alfred  Tennyson  as  poet  laureate,  there  was  an  in- 
termission of  four  years,  until  Lord  Salisbury,  who, 
"  as  Matthew  Arnold  long  ago  noted,  has  a  dangerous 
ignorance  of  literature,"  appointed  the  present  incum- 
bent on  New  Year's  day,  1896. 

Z6.  The  Season :  |  A  Satire.  |  By  |  Alfred 
Austin.  I  With  Frontispiece  Of  **  The 
Modern  Muse,"  By  |  Thomas  George 
Cooper.  I  Slender. — Why  do  your  dogs 
bark  so  ?  be  there  bears  i'  th'  Town  ?  | 
Anne  Page. —  I  think  there  are.  Sir  !  I 
heard  them  talked  of  |  Slender. —  I  love 
72 


ALFRED   AUSTIN 

the  sport  well ;  .  .  .  but  the  women  have 
so  I  cried  and  shrieked  at  it,  that  it  passed. 
I  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor.  |  London :  | 
Robert  Hardwicke,  192,  Piccadilly.  | 
1861. 
Octavo.     Pp.  74.     Plate.     First  edition. 

"One  of  the  most  notable  and  sorest  points  with 
Mr.  Austin  is  the  present  fashion  of  low  dresses  as 
worn  by  ladies  in  the  evening." — Sat.  Rev.,  xii,  24. 

AUTHORITIES  ON  THE  POETS 
LAUREATE 

87.  The  Lives  |  Of  |  The  Poets- Laureate.  | 
With  An  Introductory  Essay  On  |  The 
Title  And  Office.  |  By  Wiltshire  Stanton 
Austin,  Jun.,  |  B,  A.,  Exeter  College, 
Oxon.;  I  And  John  Ralph,  M.A.,  |  Bar- 
rister-At- Law.  I  [Quotation,  five  lines.] 
London :  |  Richard  Bentley,  New  Bur- 
lington Street.  |  Publisher  in  Ordinary  to 
Her  Majesty.  |  M.DCCC.LIII. 

Octavo.     Pp.  vi,  [i],  428. 

88.  The  I  Poets  Laureate  |  Of  |  England.-) 
Being  |  A  History  Of  The  Office  Of 
Poet  Laureate,  |  Biographical  Notices  Of 
Its  Holders,  |  Etc.  By  |  Walter  Hamil- 
ton.   I  Illustrated.    |  [Volume   I.]  |  Lon- 

73 


SELECTED  WORKS   OF  THE   POETS   LAUREATE 

don :  I  Elliot  Stock,  62,  Paternoster  Row. 

I  1879 

Octavo.  Pp.  XXV,  [ii],  308.  One  volume 
extended  to  two  by  the  insertion  of  numer- 
ous portraits  and  plates. 

89.  The  Laureates  |  of  England  |  From  Ben 
Jonson  to  Alfred  Tennyson  |  With  Selec- 
tions From  Their  Works  And  An  Intro- 
duction I  Dealing  With  The  Origin  And 
Significance  Of  |  The  English  Laureate- 
ship  I  By  I  Kenyon  West  |  Vignette 
Edition,  With  Numerous  New  |  Illus- 
trations I  By  I  Frederick  C.  Gordon, 
Esq.  I  New  York  and  London  |  Fred- 
erick A.  Stokes  Company  |  Publishers  | 

Octavo.     Pp.  20  +  459.     Portraits,  plates. 


PORTRAITS 


GEFFREY  CHAUCER.  Line  engraving. 
90.  .A  half-length  figure  turned  to  the  left,  inclosed 
in  an  oval  border  which  rests  on  a  pedestal; 
the  whole  surrounded  by  a  rectangular  border. 
The  oval  is  crowned  with  a  laurel  wreath  and 
a  ribbon  bearing  the  inscription : 

74 


PORTRAITS 

/  Our  Antient  &  Learned 
Geffrey  Chaucer  )  Englifti   Poet,   died    1400 

(  Mtz.  72. 
[Coat  of  Arms.]  Anglia  Chaucenim  veneratur 
nostra  Poetam,  |  Cui  veneres  debet  patria 
lingua  suas.  |  Tho.  Occleve  Contemporar  & 
discipulus  ejusdem  Chauceriad  viv:  delin.: 
Geo.  Vertue  Sculp:  1717. 

JOHN    GO^VER.  Line  engraving. 

91.  A  full  bust  turned  to  the  right,  within  an  archi- 
tectural framework,  at  the  foot  of  which  stand 
four  volumes ;  one  book  is  open  and  shows  a 
picture  of  Gower's  effigy  and  tomb. 

Inscription,  below.  Joannes  Gower  |  Armi- 
ger.  I  Anglorum  Poeta  Celeberrimus.  |  Chau- 
ceri  Poeta  |  Contemporar.  |  G.  Vertue  Sculp 
1727.  I  Honoritifs  D°°  loanni  Levison  Gower 
Domino  Gower.  |  banc  Effigiem  humillime 
D.D.  I  G.  Vertue. 

JOHN    SKELTON.       Stipple  engraving, 

92.  A  half-length  figure  turned  toward  the  right : 
the  face  is  turned  toward  the  left. 

Inscription,  below.  lohn  Skelton  |  Poet 
Lauret  to  King  Henry  the  Eighth.  | 

From  an  Original  Picture  in  the  Pofsefsion 
of  Mr  Richardson.  (  Published  Novf  1^}  1797, 
by  W.  Richardson  York  House  N?3i  Strand. 

75 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

EDMUND  SPENSER.    Line  engraving. 

93.  A  full  bust,  three-quarters  face,  in  an  oval 
resting  on  a  pedestal.  Above  the  oval  is  a 
pediment,  partly  covered  with  drapery,  con- 
taining a  laurel  wreath,  with  the  inscription : 
Edmund  Spencer  Obiit  1599. 

Inscription,  below.  Anglica  te  vivo,  vixit 
plaufitq  Poefis ;  |  Nunc  moritura  timet  te  mori- 
ente   Mori.  |  Camden.     Geo :  Vertue   Sculp : 

1727- 

Honoralifs  loanni  Guyse  Tribuno  Militum  | 
Singulari  bonarum  Artium  Fautori,  D.D. 
G.  Vertue. 

SAMUEL   DANIEL. 

94.  For  a  portrait  of  this  Laureate,  see  the  title- 
page  of  his  "  Civile  Wares,"  1609  (No.  12),  en- 
graved by  Thomas  Cockson  or  Coxson  {fl, 
1609-1636.) 

BEN    JONSON.  Line  engraving. 

95.  A  full  bust,  in  an  oval  resting  on  a  pedestal; 
the  whole  being  inclosed  within  a  rectangular 
border.  Above  the  rectangle  is  a  laurel 
wreath  and  a  ribbon  bearing  the  inscription : 
Benjaminus  Johnson. 
ObijtAnno|Dom.  1637. 

( ^tat.  63. 
76 


PORTRAITS 

Inscription,  below.  Fronti  nulla  Fides  huic 
non  dicatur:  apelle  |  A  tanto,  vates,  ^n 
redivivus  ades.  |  Immortale  duplex  micat  hie 
opus :  lUius  Arte  |  forma,  tud  a  Penna  fama, 
perennis  erit  | 

E  Pinacotheca  Nobilifsimi  &  Honoratifsimi 
loannis  Domini  Sommers  &c.  Cui  Tabulam 
banc  humillim^  dicat.  |  Amico  fuo  Mauritio 
Johnson  I.  C.  Artium  Amatori  redicat  1730. 
G.  Vertue  |  Gerard  Honthorst  pinxit.  Geo: 
Vertue,  Londini  Sculp 

BEN   JONSON. 

96.  Oil  painting,  by  Gerard  van  Honthorst. 

Honthorst  was  born  in  Utrecht  in  1590  and  died 
there  in  1656.  He  studied  his  art  at  the  school  of 
Bloemart  and  later  in  Italy.  Returning  to  Utrecht 
he  became  fashionable  and  his  reputation  reaching 
England,  Charles  I.  invited  him  to  his  court.  He 
painted  many  pictures  in  England  and  also  at  the 
Hague,  where  he  was  made  court  painter  to  the  Prin- 
cess of  Orange. 
,  This  is  undoubtedly  the  original  portrait  of  Jonson 

from   which   all   later  engravings   have  been    made. 
^  Painted  on  wood.     12  x  15  inches. 

SIR  WILLIAM  D'AVENANT. 

Lhie  engraving, 

97.  A  full  bust,  in  an  oval  resting  on  a  pedestal ; 
the  whole  being  inclosed  within  a  rectangle. 
The  poet  is  crowned  with  the  laurel  wreath. 

13  77 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

lo.  Grenhill  pinx.     W.  Faithome,  Sculp. 

Inscription,  below.  S''  William  D'avenant 
K* 

This  portrait  was  published  in  D'Avenant's  Works, 
1673. 

"  Will  Davenant,  asham'd  of  a  foolish  mischance 
That  he  had  got  lately  travelling  in  France, 
Modestly  hop'd  the  handsomeness  of 's  muse 
Might  any  deformity  about  him  excuse. 

•*  Surely  the  company  would  have  been  content, 
If  they  could  have  found  any  precedent ; 
But  in  all  their  records,  either  in  verse  or  in  prose. 
There  was  not  one  Laureate  without  e'er  a  nose." 

JOHN  DRYDEN.  Line  engraving. 

98.  A  half-length  figure  turned  to  the  left,  with  the 
face  turned  toward  the  front.  In  the  hand 
is  a  laurel  branch.  In  an  oval  frame  resting 
on  a  pedestal,  the  whole  inclosed  within  a 
rectangle. 

[Coat  of  arms.]  Peint  par  le  Chevalier 
Kneller.  Graue  par  le  Cheualier  Edelinck, 
C.P.R. 

Inscription,  below.     Mf  John  Dryden. 

This  portrait  was  also  issued  in  the  Dramatic 
Works,  1 701. 

THOMAS  SHADWELL.        Mezzotint. 

99.  A  three-quarter-length  figure  turned  toward 
and  looking  to  the  front. 

78 


PORTRAITS 

I :  Kerfsaboom  pinx :  W.  Faithome  fee. 
Cum  Priuilego  Regis.  Sold  by  E.  Cooper  at 
y*  3  pidgeons  ni  Bedford  ftreet. 

First  state. 

NAHUM  TATE. 

There  is  no  engraved  portrait  of  this  poet. 

NICHOLAS   ROWE.  Mezzotint. 

I  GO.  A  three-quarter-length  standing  figure,  facing 
toward  and  looking  to  the  front.  Engraved 
by  J.  Faber,  Senior. 

Inscription,  below.  Nicholas  Rowe,  Esq!, 
P.L. 

Proof. 

LAURENCE  EUSDEN. 

There  is  no  engraved  portrait  of  this  poet. 

COLLEYCIBBER.  MezzoHnt, 

ID  I.  A  three-quarter-length  figure  directed  toward 
the  left,  facing  toward  and  looking  to  the  front. 
He  holds  a  pen  in  his  right  hand,  which  a 
young  woman  is  taking. 

J.  B.  Vanloo  pinx  1740.   Edw*?  Fisher  fecit 

1758- 

Inscription,  below.     Colley  Cibber,  Esqf 
late  Poet.-Laureat.  |  Printed  for  John  Spils- 
bury  Engraver,  Map  &  Print  Seller  in  Rufsell- 
Court  Covent-Garden  London. 

79 


SELECTED  WORKS  OF  THE  POETS  LAUREATE 

"  Bromley  calls  the  lady  a  Muse  j  but  it  is  probably 
a  portrait,  perhaps  that  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Clarke." 

—  Smith. 

WILLIAM  WHITEHEAD. 

Line  engraving. 

1 02.  Full  bust,  turned  to  the  right. 

Drawn  by  J.  Thurston.      Engraved  by  W. 
Ensom. 

Inscription,  below.  William  Whitehead.  | 
From  a  Picture  by  Wilson,  in  the  Collection 
of  I  the  Right  Honorable  the  Earl  of  Har- 
court.  I  London;  March  i,  1821;  Published 
by  W.  Walker,  8  Grays  Inn  Square. 

THOMAS   WARTON.  Mezzotint 

103.  A  full  bust. 

Inscription,  below.  The  Revf  M.'  Thomas 
Warton. 

London,  Publish'd  Dec!  i;  1786,  by  W. 
Dickinfon  Engraver,  N°  158  Bond  Street 

The  engraving  is  from  the  painting  by  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds. 

HENRY  JAMES    PYE.  Mezzotint, 

104.  Full  bust,  with  the  head  turned  to  the  left. 
In  an  oval  border  within  a  rectangle. 

Painted  by  S.  I.  Arnold.  London.  Pub- 
lished as/ the  Act  directs  Feb^  2.  1801.  En- 
graved by  B.  Pym. 

Inscription,  below.  Henry  James  Pye 
Esq! 

80 


PORTRAITS 


ROBERT   SOUTHEY.  Mezzotint, 

105.  A  half-length  figure,  with   the  face    turned 
toward  the  right. 

Painted  by  Sam!  Lane  Esqf  Engraved  by 

Henry  Dawe.  »   . 

Inscription,  below.    Robert  Southey.  iEsq^.I 

L.L.D.  &c.  &c.  &c.  .'.  '! 


WILLIAM   ^A^ORDSWORTH.     Miz 

zotint. 

106.  A  three-quarter-length  figure,  seated  beside 
a  table;  the  left  hand  resting  on  an  open 
book.     The  head  is  turned  to  the  right. 

Painted  by  Miss  Margaret  Gillies.  En- 
graved by  Edward  M'^Innes. 

London.  Republished  Feb?"  15.  1853.  By 
Thomas  Boys,  (Of  The  Late  Firm  of  Moon, 
Boys  &  Graves)  Print  Sellers  to  The  Royal 
Family,  467,  Oxford  Street:  —  Paris,  E.  Gam- 
bart  &  Co.  15,  Rue  Chalot  —  Depose.  Origi- 
nally Published  Aug!  6,  1841.     Proof. 

WILLIAM   WORDSWORTH. 

107.  Same  as  above. 

Inscription,  below.     W?  Wordsworth. 

ALFRED   TENNYSON.  Etching. 

108.  By  Paul-Adolphe  Rajon.     Signed  proof. 

ALFRED   TENNYSON.  Etching. 

109.  By  Paul-Adolphe  Rajon.  Proof  signed  by 
Tennyson. 

81 


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